European shares set to revisit January peak by end of 2018 - Reuters poll

The results of the latest Reuters poll of 30 brokers fund managers and analysts, taken over the last two weeks, revealed that they see the European indices revisiting January peaks by end-2018.

Key Findings:

“The pan-European STOXX 600 index is expected to reach 405 points at the end of 2018, against a year-high of 403.7 points on Jan. 23.

That would mean a 4 percent rise for the year, much smaller than 2017’s 7.7 percent gain. Compared with Monday’s close it would mark a 5.7 percent improvement.

For the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index, the expected rise on the year is 5.6%.

The Reuters poll also shows investors are bracing for much less stable markets, with the VIX index.VIX, a gauge of U.S. stocks volatility, rising through the year with occasional abrupt spikes.

Milan's FTSE MIB is seen rising almost 10 percent in 2018 while Germany's DAX would go up over 7 percent. France's CAC will end the year 4.1 percent higher than it started it.

Britain's FTSE, which equity strategists believe could suffer from lower growth and the country's exit from the European Union, is the only indicator seen closing 2018 with a negative performance, down 2.4 percent.”