Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Eurozone Beats United States Again: 5 Hot Stock Picks

Read MoreHide Full Article

If the U.S. economy is on a steady growth path, developments across the pond are brisker. The European Union economy expanded at its quickest clip (2.5%) in a decade in 2017, as per figures from the EU statistics office Eurostat. It was the region’s strongest performance since 2007, when it grew 2.7%.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, both the EU and the 19-nation eurozone expanded 0.6% sequentially. Overall in 2017, the Eurozone grew 2.5% (the quickest growth rate since a 3.0% jump in 2007) while the U.S. economy grew 2.3%. In 2016, Eurozone growth had surpassed the United States for the first time since the 2008 crash, when the former grew 1.7% against 1.6% expansion seen in the latter.

Among Eurozone's notable economies, GDP growth in the fourth quarter slackened slightly in Germany (0.6% versus 0.7% in Q3), Italy (0.3% versus 0.4%) and Spain (0.7% versus 0.8%), but picked up in France (0.6% versus 0.5%), the Netherlands (0.8% versus 0.4%), Finland (1.1% versus 0.5%), Belgium (0.5% versus 0.2%) and Portugal (0.7% versus 0.5%).

What's Behind the Uptrend & What Lies Ahead?

A supportive ECB and a more pro-growth political backdrop in some of its core economies should be thanked for such revival, as per KPMG chief economist. European exporters are enjoying a tailwind thanks to an uptick in global growth.

As per the chief economist Europe at Standard Chartered “rising wages, low inflation and record-level employment are driving consumer spending; meanwhile, investment is rising, helped by strong corporate profitability and buoyant confidence.” Standard Chartered sees Eurozone growth of 2.2% in 2018 and 2% in 2019.

The European Commission upgraded the 19-country single currency bloc's economic growth outlook lately. It now expects Eurozone to grow 2.3% this year, up from a prior forecast of 2.1% made in November. The wining momentum should continue ahead with the Eurozone economy expected to expand 2.0% in 2019, instead of the earlier-projected 1.9% growth. Asset manager Vanguard bets big on Europe and expects the region to perform better than the United States in the long run.

5 Hot Euro Zone Stock Picks

Against this backdrop, let's look at some European stocks that are likely to outperform.

Talend S.A. : It is a provider of big data and cloud integration solutions, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO - Free Report) : This Zacks Rank #2 company is a global leader in insulin and diabetes care and makes and markets a variety of other pharmaceutical products.

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML - Free Report) : This Zacks Rank #2 company is in the manufacture of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry.

Cimpress N.V (CMPR - Free Report) : This is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) online supplier of graphic design and customized, printed products to businesses and consumers. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ING Groep N.V. (ING - Free Report) : This Zacks Rank #2 company is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 50 million private, corporate and institutional clients globally.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) - free report >>

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) - free report >>

ING Group, N.V. (ING) - free report >>

Cimpress plc (CMPR) - free report >>