Finance
Euro zone investor morale better than expected at start of 2026
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Euro zone investor morale improved at the start of 2026, with the Sentix index rising to -1.8 points, indicating better-than-expected economic expectations.
BERLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Sentix index measuring investor morale in the euro zone rose more than expected at the start of the year, hitting its highest level since July 2025 due to improved expectations, though it still remained in negative territory, a survey showed on Monday.
The index rose to -1.8 points in January from -6.2 the month before, beating forecasts by analysts polled by Reuters for a slightly less optimistic reading of -4.9.
"While the eurozone, and Germany in particular, continue to struggle with structural challenges but are showing signs of bottoming out, the U.S. and Asia in particular are providing new impetus for growth," said Sentix in a press release.
The survey of 1,091 investors taken from January 8-10 showed that economic expectations in particular were on the upswing, more than doubling from December to hit 10.0 in January.
The index measuring the current situation also improved somewhat, growing to -13.0 from -16.5 in the last month of 2025.
Similar to the wider currency bloc, sentiment in Germany, Europe's largest economy, improved significantly, reaching -16.4, its highest level since August 2025, from -22.7, while expectations turned positive, at 5.5, from -1.3 in December.
"Normally, this is a classic 'turnaround signal.' However, despite the increase, the current situation indicators remain strongly recessionary at -36.0 points," according to Sentix.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike Heine)
The Sentix index measures investor sentiment in the euro zone, reflecting their expectations about future economic conditions.
Economic expectations refer to the outlook investors have regarding future economic performance, including growth, inflation, and employment.
Investor sentiment is the overall attitude of investors toward a particular market or asset, often influenced by news, reports, and economic indicators.
The current situation index assesses how investors perceive the present economic conditions, providing insight into immediate market sentiment.
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