European assets bounce as the eurozone's economy turns upwards

Both the euro and European stocks have rallied strongly in the last few days.

Euro scuplture outside the ECB ©
The ECB is cranking up the printing press © Getty
(Image credit: Euro scuplture outside the ECB ©)

The euro has been enjoying its longest rally since 2011, gaining 4.5% against the dollar since the end of May and eclipsing $1.1384 to the greenback. And European stocks have started to outperform US markets in the past few days.

Chalk it all up to better news. The continent has endured a painful slump, with the European Central Bank (ECB) forecasting an 8.7% fall in eurozone GDP this year. Yet things are on the mend,says Morgan Stanley. Purchasing manager indices and gauges of mobility and electricity usage suggest that the economy hit a trough in April. “The recovery is already under way.”

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.