German Oct. ZEW expectations index falls to -48.3

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)
Germany's ZEW index of investor expectations tumbled to minus 48.3 in October from minus 43.3 in September, the Mannheim-based Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW, reported Tuesday.
The reading is the lowest since November 2008.
The ZEW said the decline reflected worries about weak domestic economic activity in Germany and Europe's ongoing sovereign debt crisis.
"Due to the decrease of retail sales and industrial new orders, the financial market experts may see their fears come true that the current government debt crisis might cause German companies and consumers to postpone investments and consumption spending," ZEW said.
The ZEW current conditions index fell to 38.4 from 43.6 in September.
The index is based on a survey of 271 German analysts and institutional investors.