It’s time to start loading up on U.S. stocks and other risk assets, HSBC said. Investors are heading into September after what has been a weak month for equities. All three major averages are set to close out their worst month of the year, with the S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on pace to snap 5-month win streaks. Investors have trimmed profits after tech stocks’ extraordinary rally this year. Higher yields and weak global data have weighed on equities. However, HSBC analyst Max Kettner said he does not expect any “similar broad-based sell-offs” going forward even if yields remain elevated. He said a significant move to neutral in HSBC’s short-term sentiment indicator, and other bullish macro signs for the U.S., spells opportunity ahead. .IXIC YTD mountain Nasdaq Composite YTD “A key difference to a month ago is that our short-term sentiment and positioning index is now way off contrarian sell territory and much more neutral now,” Kettner said in a Tuesday note. “So we think this presents a pretty good tactical entry point into risk assets, above all into US equities.” Notably, the analyst pointed out that the U.S. economy has largely gone from “strength to strength,” especially when compared to Europe and other parts of the world. While many economists are leaving behind U.S. recession forecasts, they still expect further weakness in Europe. “US exceptionalism is increasingly making a comeback: 1) US GDP growth expectations are continually being revised higher, Europe’s are not; 2) leading indicators are pointing to a deeper contraction in Europe, whereas US manufacturing might turn the corner soon; and 3) eurozone headline inflation should drop to almost 2.5% in Q4, while in the US our economists expect it to increase,” Kettner wrote. “All that leaves us continuing to favour US over European equities, and European duration over US duration in our tactical asset allocation,” Kettner added. Other market participants agree that investors should keep an eye on Europe. They cite its troubled mortgage market, a more hawkish central bank, as well as an economy that is weaker than the U.S. “We’re forecasting that Europe is headed for a pretty significant recession,” in the fourth or first quarter of next year, according to Infrastructure Capital Management CEO Jay Hatfield.
HSBC says this is a great time to load up on U.S. stocks, other risk assets