European Equity Markets: A Comeback?

There were some insightful observations at the FT Live webinar ‘The Resurgence of European Equity Markets’ on 9 April 2025.  The panellists discussed the factors driving the resurgence of European equity markets, the sustainability of this resurgence, the investor landscape and the emerging trends in the context of the current tariff turmoil.

Moderator, Katie Martin from the FT, set the stage for a look at the current state of European equity markets and guided the panel discussion.  Headlines from the discussion included:

• Key Drivers: The panellists highlighted (i) the role of economic recovery post-pandemic, (ii) supportive monetary policies, (iii) the revised German fiscal policy supporting higher defence spending, and (iv) increased investor confidence in Europe (despite the oft-repeated American exceptionalism mantra) as drivers for the recovery of European equity markets.  By necessity, Europe has become adept at coping with significant ‘shocks’ (such as Brexit and the Ukrainian war), and it is poised to do the same in relation to the tariff wars.
• Sustainability: The discussion turned to whether this recovery will remain sustainable.  The Panel believes Europe, when acting as a block, performs best during a crisis and the current global uncertainty and stressors could act as tailwinds for a sustained recovery.
• Investor Navigation: It is clear that investors are forced to find innovative ways to navigate the current investment landscape, including the shifting dynamics between public and private markets.  It is important for European equity markets to play their part.
• Emerging Trends: Unsurprisingly, emerging trends like the rapid adoption of AI across industries, the energy transition, and the desire for increased participation of retail investors in equity capital markets (in preference to simply defaulting to cash savings) are all expected to impact capital markets in the short to medium term.

Panellists:

• Francesco Papa (Goldman Sachs)
• Jojo Sanders (J.P. Morgan)
• Harsh Patel (Deutsche Bank)
• Thomas Mercieca (S&P Global Market Intelligence)