European Stocks Offer Selective Value After Oil Pullback, Strategist Says

European equities have presented selective value opportunities after a recent decline in oil prices, according to Hugh Gimber, a global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. According to Jin10, Gimber said a temporary peace agreement that the United States and Iran were set to sign on Friday had helped cool energy prices and created opportunities beneath the surface of major equity indexes. He said bank stocks still had room to rise as the yield curve steepened. He also described chemical stocks as attractive because their businesses are highly dependent on energy, and they could benefit if the recent oil-price shock reverses. “I still think there are plenty of opportunities to position selectively within European markets,” Gimber said. On the European Central Bank, he said market expectations that it would need to raise interest rates appeared overstated. Gimber added that if 2025’s theme was embracing global asset diversification, he saw no reason not to continue that process now that investors could begin considering how to get through the worst period of the shock.