Europe’s Stock Indexes Are Dominating Top of the Global Charts

(Bloomberg) -- Europe is churning out hit after hit in the world equity rankings this year.

Aided by a recent rally as the risk of a no-deal Brexit and a trade war recede, the region’s equities are producing six of the top 10 performers among 94 benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg. Greece is notching up the biggest gain, with the ASE Index surging 43% amid state initiatives to help banks reduce debt. The main gauges in Italy, Sweden, France, Germany and Ireland have all risen at least 24% in 2019.

All the main western-European equity gauges have risen this year, with the broader Stoxx Europe 600 Index up 19% and heading for its highest close since 2015.

After a strong start, European equities traded in a tight range for most of the second and third quarters, weighed down by worries about Brexit, trade and a gloomy economic outlook, before climbing higher in October. The region’s stock funds have also been attracting inflows of late, breaking a long spell of redemptions, which amounted to about $100 billion this year.

In an October Bloomberg survey, strategists on average forecast the Stoxx 600 will close out the year at a level of 376, implying a 5.9% decline from Friday’s close. Still, historically the benchmark tends to post gains during the holiday season.

To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London at njagadeesh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Blaise Robinson at brobinson58@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon, Monica Houston-Waesch

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