German investors’ mood upbeat
September 17, 2013
ZEW's closely-watched investor confidence index rose 7.6 points to 49.6 points in September, the Frankfurt-based economic research group said Tuesday.
This was the highest level of optimism among institutional investors since April 2010, ZEW said in a statement.
“Financial market experts hold the view that the German economy is still gaining momentum,” the statement also said, attributing the rise to improving economic prospects in the crisis-hit eurozone.
The ZEW indicator's sub-index for current business assessment also rose significantly, climbing 12.3 points higher to 30.6 points, which was its highest level since June 2012.
The gains came as the German economy grew out of stagnation in the first quarter for 2013, rebounding robustly between April and June at a pace of 0.7 percent. The government said it expected the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to continue growing in the remaining year at a more normal pace, however.
On Monday, the German blue-chip stock market index DAX surged to an all-time high amid fresh hopes that the recovery in Germany, as well as in the 17-nation eurozone, will take a hold.
uhe/tj (AFP, Reuters, dpa)