European stocks exhibited their longest winning streak since 2013, thanks to upbeat corporate earnings and an easy money policy. The Financial Times article revealed that the Stoxx 600 European equity index has gained 2% in August, resulting in its seventh successive month of gains and its longest period of monthly increases since the end of the financial crisis in 2012-2013.

The article went on to elaborate that companies on the Stoxx have reported aggregate second-quarter net income growth of 249% year over year, when coronavirus lockdowns brought the entire world to a halt. The percentage of European companies that reported ahead of analysts’ earnings estimates touched a five-year high in the second quarter, according to data provider FactSet, as quoted on Financial Times.

Notably, companies under the S&P 500 Index have reported a 93% jump in earnings per share for the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to FactSet.This entails European equities’ relative strength over the American ones at the current level.Plus, ultra-easy monetary policies around the world and the resultant decline in the yields have made equities more lucrative from the gains point of view.

Growing vaccination and a recovery in travel and consumer spending in the Eurozone is in the cards, especially with a lot of pent-up demand and hefty savings made by indoor-keeping consumers. The latest round of downbeat U.S. jobs data cemented the speculation that the global easy money policies will run for a few more months. As a result, European equities had their biggest rise since late July on Sep 7.

In a nutshell, the winning momentum in Europe is pretty upbeat, though things started moderating a bit. IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index for the Eurozone moderated slightly in August from a 15-year high the previous month.

Per the PMI survey, “growth momentum is starting to roll over in the euro area,” as Bank of America strategists led by Sebastian Raedler commented in a research note, as quoted on Financial Times.  The BofA team expects the eurozone economy to grow 8.3% year over year in the third quarter of 2021, before year-on-year growth moderates to 4.4% in the fourth quarter.

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few Europe ETFs that matched or beat the return of the S&P 500 (21.9%) in 2021 and that have a lower P/E than that of the S&P 500 (22.20X). This means that these Europe ETFs still have further potential to grow.

ETFs in Focus

WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend ETF DFE – Up 24.59%; P/E: 18.33X

The underlying WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization segment of the European dividend-paying market. The fund charges 58 bps in fees and yields 2.32% annually.

iShares MSCI Poland ETF EPOL – Up 23.51%; P/E: 19.59X

The underlying MSCI Poland IMI 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance in Poland. The fund charges 59 bps in fees.

WisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity ETF EUSC – Up 22.95%; P/E: 15.04X

The underlying WisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity Index is designed to provide exposure to the European equity markets while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations of the Euro movements relative to the U.S. dollar. The fund charges 58 bps in fees.

iShares MSCI Austria ETF EWO – Up 29.40%; P/E: 19.99X

The underlying MSCI Austria IMI 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance in Austria. The fund charges 51 bps in fees.

First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDEX ETF FKU – Up 22.33%; P/E: 13.31X

The underlying NASDAQ AlphaDEX United Kingdom Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ United Kingdom Index.

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