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.
August 2024
Regional Assessments
In the Atlas Capital quantitative assessment of equity regions as of August 2024, international stocks are favored over the US. We are particularly tilted toward Europe, Japan and the Emerging Markets other than China. Atlas is neutral to the US stock market because the unfavorable valuation metrics are balanced by very positive price momentum and also neutral to Canada. Clients are underweight Asia ex-Japan and Int’l Small Cap.
August 2024
US Sector Ranking
Clients have tilts toward the following sectors:
- Consumer Staples
- Communication Services
- Health Care
- Utilities
These US equity markets have the lowest ranking and therefore underweight positions for clients:
- Consumer Discretionary
- Materials
- Energy
- Small Cap
August 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 South Korea and Singapore and underweight Australia and Hong Kong.
August 2024
European Country Ranking
The countries with the highest overall ranking in Europe are:
- Italy
- Spain
- Austria
- Ireland
- Israel
The least favored European equity markets are:
- Denmark
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- Norway
- France
August 2024
Emerging Market Country Ranking
The Emerging Market region has a wide dispersion of favorability. The best-positioned Emerging Markets are:
- Philippines
- India
- Taiwan
- Malaysia
- South Africa
Clients are underweight Frontier markets, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey and Brazil. Russia is not investable at this point.