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February 20, 2018 at 09:56 AM
BlackRock this week shifted its view on U.S. equities to overweight from neutral.
“Our U.S. upgrade boils down to a fundamental story underpinned by earnings growth,” BlackRock’s global chief investment strategist Richard Turnill wrote in the firm’s weekly commentary.
“An added bonus: U.S. valuations look slightly more attractive after the February stock market swoon.”
At the same time, BlackRock said it had downgraded European equities to neutral because earnings momentum in Europe, though solid, lags that of other regions. The euro’s strength is also a source of pain, it said.
Emerging markets remain a favored region, according to the commentary.
Turnill wrote that the improving U.S. economy was already boosting earnings growth momentum, and tax cuts and the government’s spending plans have become an accelerant for that trend.
In the fourth quarter, S&P companies’ earnings grew by 15% year over year, and sales growth hit a high not seen since the third quarter of 2011.
Turnill noted that the ratio of analyst upgrades for U.S. large caps to downgrades was at its highest level in 30 years. “Upward revisions are solid globally, but the U.S. strength is unmatched.”
