Investors voting with their feet on Europe – Bloomberg
Withdrawals from European stock funds have reached nearly $30 billion since the beginning of the year
European stock funds have just suffered 16 straight weeks of investment outflows, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing fund flow data from a research note by Bank of America strategists.
According to the report, total withdrawals amounted to $27 billion since the start of the year, with Europe recording the biggest outflows among major regions at $4.6 billion in the past week alone.
Analysts link the region’s underperformance with growing investor preference for tech stocks with high capitalization, which have a much bigger presence in the US. The Nasdaq index of US high-tech companies is currently up 32%, its second best six-month period since the 61% surge seen in 1999.
“Tech exposure is driving regional equity flows again, benefiting US equities and the dollar,” Barclays strategist Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note to Bloomberg. He noted that Europe was the only major region to see withdrawals in June.
“In contrast, US investors have started selling European equities for the first time this year, with the weakening in activity data prompting broader outflows from the region,” Cau stated.
Last month, Morgan Stanley analysts predicted a 10% fall in European stocks this summer due to a slowdown in economic growth amid ongoing monetary tightening, deteriorating liquidity, and a stronger dollar.
READ MORE: Prices rising across the Eurozone
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed the first half of the year up 8.8%.
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