The European Commission's euro zone economic sentiment indicator surged to a forecast-beating 110.3 in October from 109.3 in September Economists polled by AFX News had forecast a more modest rise to 109.4. The industrial confidence component of the indicator rose to 5 from 4, in line with economists' forecasts, while consumer confidence improved to minus 8, as expected. Confidence in the services sector increased to 21 from 18, and the retail trade inched up to 4 from 3, while construction slipped to 3 from 4. The commission's euro zone business climate indicator fell to 1.42 in October from 1.44 in September. Economists had forecast a bigger drop to 1.40. The commission said the indicator remains robust and industrial output growth accelerated in the third quarter.