Business sentiment in the Eurozone improved in June, offering a glimmer of stability to an economy that has struggled with stagnation throughout the first half of the year.
The EU Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) rose by 1.3 points to 95.0, according to data published on Monday.
The uptick suggests that the pace of deterioration in corporate confidence has slowed, countering earlier fears of a deeper contraction.
The improvement in the composite barometer is corroborated by recent private-sector data.
The Eurozone services purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 48.9 in June, surpassing market consensus and rising from 47.7 in May.
While the services sector remains in contractionary territory, the beat against expectations signals a slower-than-feared deterioration in the region's largest economic component.