Pease: How long can investors ignore European earnings?

With European companies reporting significant earnings growth in 2010, Henderson's Richard Pease says these opportunities can no longer be ignored.

From the performance of the European stock market a casual observer might be forgiven for thinking that earnings growth had been calamitous. The FTSE World Europe ex UK Total Return Index had fallen 7.7% in sterling terms in the first 8 months of 20101. Yet average earnings per share among European stocks will have risen by 39% in 2010 according to consensus figures, with a further potential rise of 18% pencilled in for 2011. Research by Citigroup noted that markets in the second year of a recovery are often confusing. The memory of the recession lingers, often coupled with a sense o...