US investors have pumped more money into European equities than at any time since 1977, in a big vote of confidence for the region and its ability to recover from the sovereign debt crisis.

美国投资者近期大举买入欧洲股票，他们投入欧洲股市的资金金额达到1977年以来之最，这是对欧洲及其有能力从主权债务危机中复苏投下的重要信任票。

Pension funds and other big US groups invested $65bn in European stocks in the first six months of this year, the highest in 36 years over that period, according to research compiled by Goldman Sachs’ European strategy team from US Treasury data.

高盛(Goldman Sachs)欧洲策略团队根据美国财政部数据进行的研究显示，养老基金和美国其他大型集团在今年头六个月投资于欧洲股票的总金额达到650亿美元，这是36年来最高的上半年对欧投资总额。

Early signs of recovery and rising confidence have restored the faith of US investors in Europe as hopes grow that markets can rally further on a wave of stronger earnings in the second half of the year.

初步的复苏迹象和信心上升，重振了美国投资者对欧洲的信心。各方越来越相信，下半年企业报告一波更强劲的盈利数据后，股市将出现又一轮涨势。

Eddie Perkins, chief investment officer of international equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said: “The economic story makes Europe a good bet. We expect European equities to keep rising as the continent recovers.”

高盛资产管理(Goldman Sachs Asset Management)国际股票首席投资官埃迪•帕金斯(Eddie Perkins)表示：“经济形势意味着欧洲是不错的投资目的地。随着欧洲大陆走向复苏，我们预期欧洲股票将继续上涨。”

Robert Parkes, equity strategist at HSBC, added: “We see earnings surprising on the upside, which will act like a tailwind for European equities.”

汇丰(HSBC)股票策略师罗伯特•帕克斯(Robert Parkes)补充说：“我们认为盈利数据好于预期的几率较大，这将推动欧洲股票上涨。”

HSBC says that European stocks are still 15 per cent undervalued compared with the long-term average.

汇丰表示，相比长期均值，欧洲股票价格仍偏低15%。

This is the case despite the big rise in European equities since July 2012 when Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president, pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. European stocks have risen 27 per cent since June 4 2012.

欧洲股票自2012年7月以来已大幅上涨，当时，欧洲央行(ECB)行长马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)承诺“不惜任何代价”拯救欧元。自2012年6月4日以来，欧洲股指的累计涨幅达到27%。

However, equity markets still face big risks. A possible US military strike against Syria, worries about emerging markets instability and a renewed flare-up of the eurozone crisis could prevent further gains.

不过，股票市场仍面临一些大的风险。美国可能对叙利亚发动的军事打击、有关新兴市场不稳定的担忧、以及欧元区危机再度激化，都有可能阻挡股市进一步上涨。

The poor performance of emerging markets is a particular worry as European groups derive about a third of their revenues from that region. A further setback in emerging markets would hit their profits.

新兴市场表现糟糕尤其令人担忧，因为欧洲企业集团大约三分之一的营收来自新兴市场。新兴市场遭受进一步挫折，将打击它们的利润。

Despite the risks, the fact that European stocks remain cheap is encouraging more US funds to put money into the market, say strategists and investment managers. HSBC’s cyclically adjusted price earnings multiples are running at 11.4 times compared with a historical average of 14.8 times.

策略师和投资经理表示，尽管有这些风险，欧洲股票仍相对廉价这个事实，正鼓励更多美国基金投资于欧洲股市。以汇丰为例，其股票经周期调整的市盈率为11.4倍，显著低于14.8倍的历史均值。

Sectors favoured by Goldman Sachs and HSBC are financials, telecoms and utilities as these have underperformed because of the eurozone debt crisis in the past few years.

高盛和汇丰看好的板块是金融业、电信业和公用事业，这些板块因过去几年的欧元区债务危机而迄今表现偏弱。

European banking stocks, in particular, are back in vogue as the success of financials tends to depend on an improving economy. Expectations of more mergers and acquisitions activity in areas such as telecoms is also seen as positive for stocks.

特别是欧洲的银行股正再度受到青睐，因为金融企业的成功往往依赖于经济好转。对于电信等行业将出现更多并购活动的预期，也被视为股市的利好因素。

Mr Parkes said: “There are still a lot of pessimists out there, but the cheapness of stocks makes them attractive. The risks are outweighed by the positives and I think European stocks can definitely move higher.”

帕克斯表示：“目前仍有很多悲观者，但股票价格便宜这一点使其颇具吸引力。风险被利好因素压倒，我认为欧洲股市肯定会走高。”