CEO confidence retreated slightly in the third quarter after increasing in the prior quarter, according to The Conference Board’s measure of CEO confidence. In the third quarter, the measure fell to a level of 50, down from 52 in the second quarter of 2016.

A reading of more than 50 reflects more positive than negative responses.

“Confidence among CEOs decreased in the third quarter this year, but CEOs’ short-term outlook for the US remains positive,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Sentiment regarding Europe’s outlook declined, most likely due to the expected negative fallout from Brexit. CEOs’ outlook for Brazil improved considerably from last quarter, but on whole remains negative, while expectations for growth in China have gone from negative to neutral. Regarding spending plans, the results were mixed. About a quarter of chief executives report increasing their companies’ capital spending plans since January, while the same proportion say they have scaled back spending.”

CEOs’ short-term outlook for the US economy held steady with 25% expecting better economic conditions over the next six months, about the same as last quarter. The outlook for their own industries, however, was less favorable, with about 23% of CEOs anticipating an improvement over the next six months, down from almost 33% in the second quarter.

Globally, CEOs’ assessment of current conditions in the US, Europe and China declined slightly, with chief executives now slightly negative. CEOs’ assessment of Japan, Brazil and India improved. However, chief executives still remain moderately pessimistic about Japan. Despite a significant improvement from last quarter, CEOs’ appraisal of Brazil also remains negative.