Trade war fears send eurozone investor confidence to 18-month low

7th Apr 2025 09:06

(Sharecast News) - Investor sentiment in the eurozone has slumped to its lowest level in 18 months as an escalating trade war hammered economic expectations across the single-currency region.

According to a closely watched monthly survey from Sentix, the investor confidence index - which tracks sentiment among financial analysts and institutional investors - fell to -19.5 in April, down from -2.9 in March.

This was the lowest reading for the index since October 2023, Sentix said, as "the euphoria for the economy in Germany/EU from the previous month [...] evaporated".

The index tracking the current economic situation declined to -23.3 from -21.8, while the expectations measures sank to -15.8 from +18.0 - the second-largest one-month swing in the index in history.

At the same time, investor sentiment in the US plummeted to its lowest level since October 2008, as Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs - and retaliatory duties imposed by other nations - have eroded confidence in the global economic outlook.

"Many investors have been literally overwhelmed by the developments of the last few days. Can we expect a quick solution (a 'deal'), similar to a rapid market recovery after corona? We would doubt it," the Sentix survey said.

"Cheap central bank money is only of limited help in this conflict, especially as the inflationary effects of the tariff measures are difficult to assess and are likely to severely limit the central banks' options for action (for the time being)."