Credit Suisse goes overweight continental Europe stocks on recovery potential

LONDON (Reuters) - Credit Suisse said on Thursday it upgraded continental European equities to overweight and predicted they could become potentially a longer-term investment, citing a catch-up in economic recovery, valuations and excess liquidity.

"European GDP is 5.5% below previous peak, the U.S. is back to previous peak and we now see a potential catch-up in Europe on the basis of the vaccine roll-out (possibly 70% of the adult population by early September), the fiscal boost (2% of GDP) and excess savings (4.5% of GDP)," Andrew Garthwaite said in a note to clients.

Credit Suisse singled out Southern Europe, especially Spain and Italy for largest GDP recoveries, thanks to tourism exposure, and the outsized exposure to banks. The bank also said it reduced its overweight in Germany.

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker, editing by Danilo Masoni)