New | German firms not worried about China and Greece, survey shows

German companies shrugged off concerns about China's economy and turmoil in Greece, a key survey showed. The result, however, likely did not yet reflect the latest falls in Chinese and global stock markets.

The closely watched Ifo institute index of business sentiment in Europe's largest economy rose unexpectedly to 108.3 points from 108 last month, Ifo said on Tuesday. Analysts had predicted a decrease to 107.6 points.

Companies' outlook for the coming months fell, but only slightly.

The bulk of the responses came in the first two weeks of this month, a period which included China's surprise devaluation of its currency on August 11 - but which preceded the dizzying stock market plunges on Friday and on Monday.

The positive result comes amid uncertainty about slowing economic growth in China. The world's second-largest economy is a major market for German companies, but worries over a slowdown there were not widely felt in the survey, even though exports have already slowed somewhat.

Recent figures show that German's economy is increasingly supported by domestic consumer spending as well as exports.

Analysts cautioned that the Ifo survey might not yet fully reflect all the turmoil.