Advantage for Europe’s stocks – Fossil raw materials drive the stock market

Dusseldorf With an annual loss of three percent, the shares of the 50 largest companies in Europe have done comparatively well. The American Dow Jones has lost eight and a half percent since January 1st, the Dax around 15 percent and the world stock index MSCI World even almost 20 percent.

For years, European stocks lagged those in the US and around the world. The corporations are considered to be slow-growing and not very forward-looking. This year, however, everything was different. The three oil companies BP, Shell and Total Energies are the big winners in the Stoxx 50 Europe, each with a share price increase of more than 30 percent since the beginning of January in places two, three and four. The raw materials producer Glencore ranks first with an increase of almost 50 percent.