Equity strategists are cooling on the prospects for further gains in European stocks just as investors poured a record amount of money into the region’s equity funds...
After a French election victory for centrist Emmanuel Macron and analysts suggesting that optimism over better profits is largely priced in, forecasters now see fewer triggers for the rally to continue in 2017.
Equity strategists, “having been torched for their prior optimism in the past, might be cautious in continuing to call Europe up after a very good run,” saidMichael Ingram, a market strategist at BGC Partners in London.
“It’s difficult to identify any near-term catalysts for continued outperformance as most of the political tripwires appear to have been negotiated, easy monetary policy is priced in and the European earnings season is essentially done.”
As Bloomberg reports, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index of the biggest euro-area stocks will finish the year at 3,498, 3.8 percent lower than Friday’s close, according to the average in asurvey of 15 banks compiled by Bloomberg. For the Stoxx 600, nine banks expect the gauge to end the year 2.4 percent lower than Friday’s level, a mean of their predictions shows.