Gloominess pervades euro zone investor morale, expectations - Sentix

BERLIN (Reuters) - Investor morale in the euro zone slumped in September to its lowest since May 2020 as the spectre of a rough recession for the 19-country currency bloc seems all but unavoidable, a survey showed Monday.

Sentix's index for the euro zone tumbled to -31.8 points in September from -25.2 in August, below expectations of analysts polled by Reuters for a reading of -27.5.

The expectations index also took a tumble to -37.0 from -33.8, hitting its lowest value since December 2008, the peak of the financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Bank.

The index on the current situation in the euro zone also fell, declining to -26.5 in September from -16.3 in August and hitting its lowest since February 2021.

"Never before in more than 20 years of history, with the exception of the financial crisis in 2008, have investors' assessments of the euro zone economy been so weak - and at the same time expectations have been so low," Sentix Managing Director Manfred Huebner said in a statement.

He pointed out that, at the moment, there are no signs of monetary aid similar to the central bank response after the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The poll of 1,258 investors was conducted between Sept. 2 and 4, said Sentix.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Paul Carrel)