European equities lean modestly bullish in this week's published research, with a notable caveat on consumer-facing exposure.
The bullish case, according to several research notes: a steeper yield curve is seen as a tailwind for European banks, AI-related capex is spilling into Germany as a cyclical boost, and strong earnings alongside fresh record highs suggest the near-term uptrend is intact. One camp of analysts is overweight Euro Area equities, though explicitly conditional on the ECB staying hawkish.
Germany draws the most conviction. Technical work published this week sees the DAX opening above 26,400 with further upside targets, while a separate cyclical argument ties German equities to the global AI capex wave.
The contrarian thread: researchers argue Euro Area consumers are saving at near-record levels, private consumption is weak, and a second-half spending rebound looks unlikely — a headwind specifically for Euro Stoxx 50 earnings.
On UK single names, recently published work flags Auto Trader and Softcat as mispriced "AI losers," with additions also made in a major UK bank, Marks & Spencer, and Babcock on defence and infrastructure conviction.