LONDON - Europe’s efforts to kickstart economies hit by COVID-19 has prompted BlackRock Investment Institute to upgrade its view on European stocks to “overweight”, while warning of a risk that the U.S. policy response could be scaled back too soon.
“The region is exposed to a cyclical upside as the economy restarts, against a backdrop of solid public health measures and a galvanizing policy response,” BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said in its mid-year outlook.This came at the expense of U.S. stocks, for BlackRock reduced exposure to “neutral”, citing risks of fading fiscal stimulus, an extended epidemic and renewed China-U.S. tensions.
“As we look out over the coming 6-12 months, we think there are significant risks around the U.S. retrenching too soon the policy support,” Pyle added.Having slumped 35% from Feb. 20 to March 23, they are now within 10% of February’s record highs thanks to lashings of fiscal stimulus, interest rates reduced to 0% or below in most major economies and massive quantitative easing by central banks.has slipped 6% over the same period.