Euro zone investor morale plunges on Iran war
The Sentix index measuring investor morale in the euro zone fell sharply in April, stung by higher energy prices and supply chain disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The index fell to -19.2 points from -3.1 the month before, the survey showed today, worse than forecasts by analysts polled by Reuters for a reading of -9.
"Investors realise that recession is once again on the table," Sentix said.
Sentix likened the decline to that of a year earlier, when US President Donald Trump began to increase US tariffs on countries around the world.
"The attacks on energy infrastructure and disruptions to shipping in the Persian Gulf are weighing even more heavily on people's minds than they did four weeks ago," Sentix added.
The survey of 1,047 investors taken from April 2-4 also showed a decline in both economic expectations and the current situation.
Expectations fell to -15.5 points from 3.5 the previous month, while the index measuring the current situation fell to -22.8 from -9.5 in March
The index for the German economy, Europe's largest, fell to -27.7 from -12.1 in March.
All four readings were the lowest values since April 2025.
