Link Securities | The Sentix investor confidence index for December showed a stabilisation of sentiment in the Eurozone. In its overall reading, the index rose slightly to -6.2 points in December, in line with expectations, compared to -7.4 points, while the current situation sub-index reached -16.5 points, compared to -17.5 points in November, and the expectations sub-index stood at 4.8 points, up from 3.3 points the previous month.
Sentix noted that the Eurozone economy remains in a phase of stagnation, but that improvements in the expectations and current situation indices point to stabilisation. Sentix also highlighted positive external factors, such as the end of the US federal government shutdown and improved consumer sentiment regarding the US economy. Encouraging influences were also reported from Switzerland, Asia and emerging countries.
However, sentiment readings in Germany remain in recessionary territory. The overall reading for the country was -22.7 points in December, its lowest reading since April, compared with -20.4 points in the previous month, with the current situation sub-index at its lowest level since February (-41.8 points versus -38.3 points; November), while the expectations sub-index fell to -1.5 points from -0.5 points in November. Sentix said that economic recovery in Germany is unlikely in the short term, but that opinions differ. Professional investors are quite optimistic about the outlook, while private investors are pessimistic.
