Investor Confidence Index Rises to 87.0 in August.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- State Street Associates, the research unit of State Street Global Markets, released today the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM) for August 2004. State Street Global Markets is the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT).

According to the August index, investor confidence increased by 2.4 points from July's revised reading of 84.6.

Developed by Harvard University professor Ken Froot and Paul O'Connell of State Street Associates, the index shows that August was a rare month for 2004, offering the largest monthly increase, although one that is still relatively small.

"This is a welcome break from the almost relentless decline in investor risk appetite witnessed this year," said O'Connell. "While we have staunched the outflow, this month's increase remains fairly small by historical standards. In August, institutional investors saw prices that make risk considerably cheaper to hold. They finally reacted positively to that."

"Considerable uncertainty remains," said Froot. "In August, investors bought European, U.K., and, to lesser extent Japanese risky assets, but comparable U.S. stocks remained out of favor. Construction, air freight, and building products have been buys, but electronics, telecommunications, biotechnology and healthcare still have not reached a turnaround. The mixture says that investors remain unwilling to jump in with both feet."

The State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM) is a key economic indicator for asset owners, investment managers and central banks. As the only index providing a quantitative measure tracking the common buying patterns of institutional investors around the world, the State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM) offers a unique look into the investment behavior and decisions of thousands of professional investors and their investment decisions.

About State Street Associates:

Founded in 1999 in Cambridge, Mass., State Street Associates develops portfolio and flow research, currency management, asset allocation services and designs strategy tools to support the needs of global portfolio managers.

About the State Street Investor Confidence Index(SM)

The index is released globally at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on the second to last Tuesday of each month. More information on the State Street Investor Confidence Index, and the calendar of release dates, is available at http://www.statestreet.com/investorconfidenceindex. The previous month's calculations for the index are revised to account for trading activity through the end of the reporting period.

About State Street

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading specialist in providing institutional investors with investment servicing, investment management, investment research and trading services. With $9.1 trillion in assets under custody and $1.2 trillion in assets under management, State Street operates in 24 countries and more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's Web site at www.statestreet.com.

State Street Global Markets provides trading services in foreign exchange, equities, fixed income, derivatives and money market products to institutional investors worldwide. It is the leading provider of transition management and portfolio rebalancing. State Street Global Markets' Global Link network, which is used by 80 percent of the world's largest investors, integrates unique flow-based research and leading-edge electronic trading and crossing platforms to provide access to liquidity and to analytical and trading tools that are designed to enhance returns and reduce risk.

This news announcement contains forward-looking statements as defined by United States securities laws, including statements about the financial outlook and business environment. Those statements are based on current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those related to the pace at which State Street adds new clients or at which existing clients use additional services, the value of global and regional financial markets, the pace of cross-border investment activity, changes in interest rates, the pace of worldwide economic growth and rates of inflation, the extent of volatility in currency markets, consolidations among clients and competitors, State Street's business mix, the dynamics of markets State Street serves, and State Street's success at integrating and converting acquisitions into its business. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by any forward-looking statements are set forth in State Street's 2003 annual report and subsequent SEC filings. State Street encourages investors to read the corporation's annual report, particularly the section on factors that may affect financial results, and its subsequent SEC filings for additional information with respect to any forward-looking statements and prior to making any investment decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, August 24 2004, and the company will not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect events after this date.