Event held to discuss outlook for European Equity Markets

Muscat: Continuing to bring in global industry knowledge to investors in the Sultanate, National Bank of Oman (NBO) recently held a virtual event in collaboration with Franco-German financial group, Oddo BHF, to discuss the outlook for European Equity Markets in 2020 and beyond.
Led by Pascal Riégis, Global Co-Head of Fundamental Equities and Head of European Small & Mid Cap Equities, the WebEx-based event offered a macro-economic review of the largest European financial markets, discussed the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing recovery in corporate sales and profitability, and finally, what to expect in 2021. This was the latest dialogue held as part of a series of monthly events that the bank has hosted virtually on a range of pertinent topics, helping its clients make sound financial decisions while supporting learning in the banking and investment sector.
Yaseen Hassan Al Lawati, head of Investment Banking Division, said, “NBO is the leading trusted investment advisor and manager ​in Oman and as such we are focused on providing investment management services to help our clients in achieving their strategic goals. Part of our pro-active approach is to bring in experts from around the globe that can contribute to their unique perspective. Since the current pandemic has halted physical events, we have kept the information flowing by moving to online platforms, continuing to support our clients’ prosperity despite a challenging and ever-changing financial environment.”
The conference started with a European macro-economic review and outlook for 2020 and 2021, covering GDP growth rates, inflation and interest rates, as well as country- and sector-specific outlook on European financial markets, such as the UK, Germany, France and other large economies. It also touched on the impact and future expectations on sales and profitability of European companies during COVID-19, current market valuations and current market volatility, drawdowns during the initial shutdown periods and then the ongoing recovery, and also the performance distortion between Large-cap stocks and mid/small-cap stocks, finishing with an insight on what to expect going forward.
Pascal Riégisbegan his career in 1987 as a financial analyst at Paribas and later joined the CIC Group where he worked in equity research. He joined the Oddo Group in 1995 where he was the head of equity research at Oddo Securities. Since 2003, Pascal has worked in the Oddo Asset Management team as a mid-cap equity analyst and portfolio manager. Pascal is a member of the SFAF (Société Française des Analystes Financiers) and has been managing funds for over six years.