Business And Leadership: Eurozone investor confidence falls in February

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Eurozone investor confidence falls in February

08.02.2010
Eurozone investor confidence fell for the first time in seven months during February, according to an index compiled by a German-based Sentix research institute.

The overall Sentix Economic Index, which measures investor confidence in the Eurozone, slumped 4.5 points from -3.7 in January to -8.2 in February, with the drop in economic expectations for the 16-nation monetary zone playing a strong part in this development.

The index showing six-month expectations for the Eurozone also fell by 7.5 points, leaving it back under September 2009 values, which the institute said dampened hopes for a sustained economic recovery in the second half of 2010.

China a major factor
According to the institute, one of the main causes behind the drop in Eurozone investor confidence is the deterioration of economic expectations in China and Japan.

Investors are worried about the Chinese Government's recent braking measures on the economy, and perceive this as representing an economic hurdle to the Eurozone. It was specifically China that was the motor for the global economic recovery last year, and the country was also the 'beacon of hope' for export-driven Eurozone firms in 2010.

The Sentix economic index is a monthly survey of more than 3,100 individual and institutional financial market participants on their assessment of the current economic situation and six-month economic expectations of the Eurozone.