23rd October 2017

BlackRock’s Global Investment Outlook for Q4

BlackRock has released their Global Investment Outlook giving their views for the fourth quarter.

Insight from BlackRock Investment Institute

Growth is cruising at above-trend rates across the world. BlackRock expect inflation to pick up in the US but to move sideways at low levels in the eurozone. This means monetary policy divergence is back. Remarkably steady growth is fostering subdued market volatility. BlackRock see this providing fertile ground for risk-taking in equities and emerging market (EM) assets.

BlackRock believe the global economic expansion is providing a positive backdrop for corporate earnings. All major regions are posting earnings-per-share growth higher than 10% for the first time since 2005, excluding the post-crisis bounce, BlackRock research shows. Analyst forecasts are holding steady in the US and Europe, Japan is up and EM earnings expectations have almost doubled this year. See the chart below. These trends give BlackRock comfort taking risk in stocks.

Earning their keep
Analyst forecasts of 2017 corporate earnings growth

Sources: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from Thomson Reuters, September 2017.

Note: The lines show the path of aggregate analyst expectations of 2017 earnings growth for companies in various regions.

Download the full report to find out more about the key themes for this quarter, risks and market trends.

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