- Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank
German investor confidence grew more than expected in September, as the ECB released a plan to buy government bonds to curb Eurozone's debt crisis. German ZEW economic sentiment index rose to -18.2, from -25.5 in the preceding month, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said on Tuesday. Any reading above zero indicates optimism, while a reading below indicates pessimism.
"Draghi may have saved Germany," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London.
"The gain in ZEW investor confidence today is the first tentative sign that the ECB, by vowing to run an effective rather than a toothless monetary policy in the future, will keep Germany out of recession."
"Nevertheless, we expect the German economy to grow only moderately in the second half this year, as exports and the industrial sector will continue to feel the consequences of a weak euro-zone economy and sluggish world trade growth," said Aline Schuiling, an economist at ABN Amro NV in Amsterdam.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.18 per cent to 272.42. Germany's DAX Index erased 0.45 per cent to 7,310.32 and France's CAC 40 Index lost 1.18 per cent to 3,502.09.
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