After a long, cold year, investors are flocking back to Europe
A European recession looked like a no-brainer just a few weeks ago, but that picture has changed dramatically, and investors have started pouring money into the region's stocks, currency and bonds. Warmer temperatures and well-filled gas storage facilities mean there's less concern about power shortages and sky-high energy bills.
That, along with China reopening its economy at breakneck speed, promises a boost for Europe's export-oriented economy.
JPMorgan has raised its forecast for eurozone first-quarter economic growth to one per cent from a contraction of 0.5pc, echoing a similar move from Goldman Sachs earlier this month. Data from BofA Global Research on Friday showed the first weekly inflow of investor money into European equity funds in almost a year.
Markets are picking up those positive vibes. The euro is set for its largest three-month gain against the dollar since 2011, having risen nearly 10pc. European stocks have vastly outperformed their US peers. The euro STOXX benchmark has beaten its US peer, the S&P 500, by over 18 percentage points since September. Morgan Stanley says this is its best outperformance in 20 years relative to Wall Street.
"It's a very big move in European gas prices and that has dramatically improved the outlook. The perception has shifted from the worst kind of contraction, especially for countries like Germany, to potentially avoiding recession," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier in Geneva. "It's difficult to see a negative. Whether it's investment-grade bonds, or equities, or the euro, it's all very good news".
Dutch natural gas futures, a regional benchmark, have fallen back to where they were before Russia invaded Ukraine and are down 80pc from their August peak. Investors are allocating cash back to European equities and cutting exposure to Wall Street, where pricey tech stocks are getting hammered by rising rates.
In terms of valuations, European blue chips are trading at a multiple of around 13, compared with a ratio of around 20 for the S&P 500, according to Refinitiv data. That 7-point premium is well above the five-year average of 1.5, suggesting that European shares look cheap compared to the US.
Roberto Lottici, portfolio manager at Banca Ifigest in Milan, recently sold his Amazon position to buy European banks like Intesa, BNP or Santander, and utilities. BofA European equity strategists, example, are "positioned against
for (the) consensus view", as they feel recent monetary tightening, the harshest in four decades, will lead to a recession, which will drag down stocks.
Banca Ifigest's Lottici said the "sword of Damocles" of the war in Ukraine still dangles over Europe.
"Lower gas prices are surely a positive, but their rapid fall also tells us that they can rise just as fast should things go wrong. I'm managing my assets very carefully," he said.
The euro has stormed 15pc higher against the dollar from September's 20year low of $0.9528 and some analysts think it has much further to go.
"Europe is recovering in a big way," Nomura FX strategist Jordan Rochester said. His bank expects the euro to reach $1.10 by the end of January and $1.16 by year-end.
The improvement in the European economy is also driving flows into fixed income. Richard McGuire, head of rates strategy at Rabobank, said while the impact of lower energy prices on government bonds "has many moving parts … when you put them together, we would argue that it's bullish."
On the one hand, he said lower inflation and less need for debt issuance to fund energy subsidies is positive for bonds, but this has to be weighed against higher growth, which tends to hurt traditional safe-haven.