Investors relatively optimistic on equities-FD poll

LONDON Nov 2 (Reuters) - Leading investors believed a month ago that prospects for global equity markets are neutral to positive heading into 2010, a survey showed on Monday.

It also showed significant differences in optimism depending on where the investors were from, however, with Asians the most bullish and those from the United States and Britain the least bullish.

Investor relations consultants FD said more than 75 percent of investors questioned in its survey at the end of the third quarter were confident that equity markets had not peaked and that global indexes would rise further.

The firm said it had polled 150 of the world's largest investment companies with combined assets under management of more than $2.5 trillion.

It found that the healthcare and technology stock sectors engendered the most optimism. The greatest divergence of opinion was in financials, which appeared in the lists for both most favoured sector in 2010 and least favoured.

China was viewed as the most promising area for investments, followed closely by the rest of Asia and the United States.

Eastern Europe was the least popular by far. Britain and the euro zone also scored poorly.

FD said the overall view of investors was that equities would remain positive as long as the broad range of government stimulus packages remained in place. (Editing by Stephen Nisbet)