Current Market Assessment

Which Equity Markets are Favored?

For equity regions, countries and sectors, we combine information into comprehensive charts to help you understand what parts of the global equity market are better positioned for future returns and which are poorly positioned. The results of our quantitative assessments of global equity choices are illustrated in the charts below.

On all charts, the horizontal axis is Value, measuring the relationship of price to fundamental information such as earnings, sales, and cash flow. Equity markets which are farther to the right have better Value. The vertical dimension on the chart is Momentum, a measurement of the recent price performance for the equity index. The markets which are higher up in the chart have better Momentum. While the Atlas process uses other criteria in addition to Value and Momentum, those two are the most important. The markets in the upper right quadrant on the charts (if any) are most favorably positioned for future returns. We call that quadrant the “Comfort Zone”. Those in the lower left are least favorably positioned, in the “Danger Zone”. The size of the circles in the chart represent the market capitalization of the equity index and the color represents Atlas’ current positioning – green for overweight, yellow for neutral weight and red for underweight.

February 2024

Regional Assessments

In the Atlas Capital quantitative assessment of equity regions as of February 2024, international stocks are favored over the US. We are particularly tilted toward Europe and Japan. Atlas is tilted away from the US stock market because it has the least favorable valuation metrics. Chinese and Asia ex-Japan equity markets have been affected by the sluggish Chinese economy.

February 2024

US Sector Ranking

InfoTech would have a favorable ranking based on very strong price momentum. However, Atlas has decided to be at neutral weight because of unattractive valuation. Clients have tilts toward the following sectors:

  • Communication Services
  • Financials
  • Industrials
  • Health Care
  • Mid Cap

These US equity markets have the lowest ranking and therefore underweight positions for clients:

  • Utilities
  • Real Estate
  • Consumer Staples
  • Materials

February 2024

Asia/Pacific Country Ranking

In Asia/Pacific we are tilted toward Japan, which has the most attractive characteristics for investment. Clients are neutral in Australia and Singapore and underweight South Korea and Hong Kong.

February 2024

European Country Ranking

The countries with the highest overall ranking in Europe are:

  • Italy
  • Norway
  • Austria
  • Spain
  • Netherlands

The least favored European equity markets are France, Finland, Belgium, and Israel.

February 2024

Emerging Market Country Ranking

The Emerging Market region has a wide dispersion of favorability. The four best-positioned Emerging Markets are:

  • Frontier
  • Poland
  • Turkey
  • India

Clients are underweight China, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand and Chile. Russia is not investable at this point and is not shown on the chart.

Equity Market Downside Risk Dashboard

Click here for our latest assessment of the downside risk faced by equity investors.

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