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.
September 2024
Regional Assessments
In the Atlas Capital quantitative assessment of equity regions as of September 2024, international stocks are favored over the US. We are particularly tilted toward China, Japan and Canada. Atlas is neutral to Emerging Markets ex China and to International Small Cap. Clients are underweight the US, Europe and Asia ex Japan.
September 2024
US Sector Ranking
Clients have tilts toward the following sectors:
- Consumer Staples
- Communication Services
- Real Estate
- Utilities
These US equity markets have the lowest ranking and therefore underweight positions for clients:
- Consumer Discretionary
- Materials
- Energy
- Small Cap
September 2024
Asia/Pacific Country Ranking
In Asia/Pacific we are tilted toward Japan, which has the most attractive characteristics for investment as well as Singapore. Clients are neutral in South Korea and Hong Kong and underweight Australia.
September 2024
European Country Ranking
The countries with the highest overall ranking in Europe are:
- Italy
- Spain
- Austria
- Ireland
- Israel
- Finland
The least favored European equity markets are:
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Norway
- France
September 2024
Emerging Market Country Ranking
The Emerging Market region has a wide dispersion of favorability. The best-positioned Emerging Markets are:
- China
- Philippines
- Malaysia
Clients are underweight Frontier markets, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, Poland and Brazil. Russia is not investable at this point.