Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- S&P 500 has limited upside over the next couple of years while euro-area equities are trading at a 47% discount to their U.S. counterparts on price-to-book value, Societe Generale strategists including Roland Kaloyan and Charles De Boissezon write in note.

• Better economic and inflation outlook, combined with an

expected drop in policy uncertainty after French election, should make the region “strongly appealing”

• Italian stocks look particularly cheap, should benefit from normalization of risk and bond spreads
  • SocGen sees FTSE MIB at 24,500 points by end-2018, a rise of 23% from current levels
• Higher bond yields prompt rotation: SocGen recommends avoiding bond-proxy sectors with no growth: telecoms and

utilities ** Favors banks, which benefit from higher inflation and should be main beneficiaries of a market-friendly candidate winning French election

• M&A to boost European stocks: low bond yields, strong balance sheets, strong cash generation, better economic outlook among factors set to fuel further consolidation in Europe

RELATED:

• March 21: European Stocks Outperform U.S. Peers After Dutch Vote: Chart
• March 21: Euro-Zone Banks Outperform as French Election Risk Seen Waning
• March 17: French Asset Managers More Cheery Than Global Peers on Vote Risk

(Bloomberg) -- Here’s a roundup of Indian co. debt-rating changes.

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DOWNGRADES

• Status Clothing
  • Term loan cut to D from B+ at ICRA
  • Cites delays in meeting debt obligations

• Wintop Vitrified
  • Fund-based limits cut to B from B+ at ICRA
  • Cites decline in revenues on weak domestic demand scenario, limited product diversification

UPGRADE

• Gaurav International
  • Working capital raised to A2 from A3+ at ICRA
  • Cites steady revenue growth