European stocks continued to rally, finishing higher on Friday after reaching their highest level since April 2022 on Thursday.
Markets in Europe were boosted by cooling global inflation, falling energy prices, and stronger-than-expected U.K. GDP growth in November.
“The macroeconomic picture in Europe has improved in recent weeks, giving advisors greater confidence that the risk of investing overseas will be rewarded in 2023,” Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, said.
“The negative impact of higher energy prices that was harmful in 2022 has begun to dissipate,” Rosenbluth added.
U.K. consumption was strengthened due to the start of the FIFA World Cup, beating expectations of a contraction in the month. CPI in France showed positive inflation data and demonstrated that slowing energy price increases are helping to cool inflation in Europe.
Investors looking to bolster their portfolios by adding exposure to European stocks may consider the ALPS O’Shares Europe Quality Dividend ETF (OEUR ), which has gained 2.8% in the past five days and has increased 14.7% over a six-month period.
OEUR is designed to offer investors efficient and transparent access to a portfolio of large-cap and mid-cap dividend-paying companies in Europe selected based on several fundamental metrics such as quality, low volatility, and dividend growth, according to SS&C ALPS Advisors.
OEUR has a focus on dividend quality to help avoid dividend cuts and suspensions and aims to provide strong performance with less risk, according to SS&C ALPS Advisors.
As of November 10, the fund offers the greatest exposure to companies domiciled in Switzerland (22.61%), France (17.99%), the United Kingdom (13.55%), Germany (12.82%), and the Netherlands (10.29%), according to VettaFi.
Other ETFs that offer exposure to European stocks include the iShares Europe ETF (IEV ), the Franklin FTSE Europe ETF (FLEE ), and the SPDR Portfolio Europe ETF (SPEU ).
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the ETF Building Blocks Channel.
