Investor expectations for the Swiss economy slipped in February as uncertainty over global economies and falling prices came to the fore, Reuters reported. But even at -5.9 points on the Swiss ZEW index–down from -3.0 in January–investor sentiment remained a far cry from the dismal outlook posted in the financial crises of recent years. “Most of the analysts surveyed (82%) continue to rate the present state of Switzerland’s economy as being ‘normal’,” Credit Suisse, which issues the indicator in cooperation with ZEW, the German economic research institute, said on Wednesday. The split among the remaining analysts, however, tipped the current conditions balance to -6.0 in February, up from -8.5 a month earlier. Nearly a third expected conditions to worsen. The darkening mood comes during a sell-off in banking stocks that has seen Credit Suisse’s shares hit their lowest since 1991, and amid concern over growth in emerging markets that hit UBS’s shares on the day it posted full-year results.
