(Yicai Global) Oct. 13 -- Investors in Shanghai are becoming increasingly optimistic about the eastern city's macroeconomic outlook but most consumers are on the back foot, according to a survey.

The Shanghai Investor Confidence Index was at 125.38 points in the third quarter, a 9.19 point jump from a year ago or a 9.88 point increase from a quarter earlier, according to a report that the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the Shanghai Social Research Center published today.

But consumers begged to differ. The Shanghai Consumer Confidence Index fell 6.2 points to 113.9 points in the third quarter from three months earlier. Demographics could explain some of that decline. High-income consumers and young adults were more optimistic about their jobs and income prospects while middle-class consumers and middle-aged citizens took more cautious approaches.

Other business gauges were looking up. The entrepreneur investment confidence index, which monitors businesspersons' satisfaction with their current and projected status of production and operations, logged 133.04 points, up 18.43 points from a year earlier. It was also 15.91 points higher from the second quarter.

An index of retail investors' confidence was ticking up. It rose 10.49 points from the previous quarter and 10.01 points from a year earlier to 111.83 points.

Editor: Emmi Laine