The latest McKinsey Quarterly survey of some 5,500 senior corporate leaders around the world shows that executives from a wide range of industries and regions remain broadly positive about the global economy. These executives have curbed their optimism since early this year, but many plan to step up hiring as well as spending on information technology. The most vigorously upbeat sentiment comes from India, where executives voice strong confidence in the new government's ability to advance economic liberalization, and from a rapidly expanding China, which is confident that it will continue to attract massive foreign direct investment (Exhibit 1).

Nonetheless, during a period when oil prices and fears of interest rate hikes rose, executives curbed their earlier enthusiasm about their own economies and industries. Overall, confidence levels have declined by 6 percent since the Quarterly's first survey, in January. The most dramatic decrease came in developing markets.

Many executives also feel ongoing pressure on prices—a sign that competition remains heated. And though the promise of India and China continues to dazzle, not all business leaders believe that those countries can sustain their economic reforms. (For information about the survey respondents and on the use of the...