Morgan Stanley's Andrew Slimmon said there are investment opportunities in the Japanese and European markets. He said the strength of Japanese equities reflects continued upward revisions to companies' earnings outlooks, while in Europe, gains in defense-related and bank stocks have stood out.
Slimmon said on a CNBC program that he sees investment opportunities in Japan and European markets, citing the large number of Japanese companies that have raised their earnings outlooks as a factor behind the strength of Japanese equities. The Japanese market has risen sharply year to date, although it has pulled back from its June high.
In European markets, opportunities in the defense sector were viewed as promising, while the strength of bank stocks was also highlighted. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index is up approximately 18.87% year to date. Regarding the U.S. market, the view was expressed that some technology stocks will continue to drive the indices amid ongoing interest-rate hikes.
Morgan Stanley revamped its "Vintage Values" list, with the 2026 edition recording a 32.12% 12-month return. It selected 15 new stocks, while Amazon, McKesson and Visa remained on the list. Alphabet, Apple, Coca-Cola, Dynatrace, Eli Lilly, Equinix and Williams Companies were among the new additions.
Among the new additions, Eli Lilly, Alphabet and Coca-Cola attracted attention as substantive selections based on their recent performance. These developments are viewed as suggesting the effectiveness of bottom-up factors ahead of the third-quarter earnings season.