Goldman Sachs sees STOXX 600 gaining six percent in 12 months

Goldman Sachs expects the pan-European STOXX 600 index to rise by nearly 6 percent from current levels to 360 points over the next 12 months, betting on modest earnings growth, the firm said on Tuesday. The investment bank also saw Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 index to rise to 7,300 points and the euro zone's bluechip Euro STOXX 50 index to gain to 3,250 points during that period.
The predicted levels for the two indexes are about 9 percent and 7 percent higher respectively from the current levels. "We continue to see a positive but relatively modest return for the equity market for 2017, given the high starting valuations and the continued outlook for modest earnings growth," Goldman analysts said in a research report. They expected a profit growth of 12 percent for the STOXX 600 in 2017, slowing to 5 percent in 2018.