BlackRock European Equity Products Drew $4.4B in July as Flows Return to Europe

Money is flowing back into European equities. BlackRock said its European equity products attracted $4.4 billion in inflows during July, and Bloomberg data shows European stock ETF flows turned positive that month for the first time since the US-Iran conflict began in late February. European benchmark indices have been climbing to fresh records over the past week, including the Stoxx Europe 600, Germany's DAX, the UK's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40. According to FactSet, Stoxx Europe 600 constituents are expected to report a 22% year-on-year increase in second-quarter profits, the strongest earnings growth since 2022. Marina Zavolock, European equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, said recent strong earnings have strengthened investors' interest in "diversified allocation" to European stocks. The renewed attention follows a sharp sell-off in global semiconductor stocks in July, which led investors to refocus on European markets, where returns are less dependent on technology and AI stocks, per the Financial Times.