Major international equity markets have extended in early 2017 the 2016 positive trend. For example, the US equity markets rose during the last week to the historical high, with the Dow Jones Industrial above 20k threshold for the first time ever.
In our view, the outlook of the US equity markets remains positive in the short term. The main reason for optimism is the solid perspective of the US economy, as signaled by data recently released. The ISM manufacturing index for January due on Wednesday, 1st February should confirm the positive picture, edging up from 54.7 to 55 (Bloomberg survey consensus estimate). It would be a value in line with an annual GDP growth of 3.6%. The solid perspectives of the economy should reinforce analysts' expectations for a strong growth of corporate profits in 2017. According to the latest consensus estimates gathered by Factset, S&P 500 corporate profits should