Detecting opportunities in European equities

EUROPEAN EQUITIES

Inexpensive European equity markets offer potentially attractive investment opportunities, writes HSBC's Nicholas Dowell and Marcus Pakenham

With economic growth looking poor in Europe, is this a good time to invest in equities? This year will certainly be harder work with many governments facing high deficits and debt levels, coupled with central banks withdrawing emergency financial support from the banking systems. But while governments face the bond vigilantes, the corporate sector, ex banks, has come through the last two years in remarkably good shape. The equity markets are not expensive and there are many potentially attractive investment opportunities. Looking at the whole equity market, the graph on this page show...