Franklin Templeton’s 2024 Outlooks for Global Equities
Insights into equity markets from Franklin Templeton and ClearBridge Investments
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, January 16, 2024 – Franklin Templeton and ClearBridge Investments, one of the specialist investment managers of the Franklin Templeton Group, provide their insights into global equity markets, technology, and infrastructure sectors in 2024.
Commenting on global equities, Manraj Sekhon, Chief Investment Officer, Templeton Global Investments said:
“We are constructive on equity markets in 2024. Drivers include the likelihood of a soft landing in the United States, evidence that interest rates have peaked, and the economic outlook in China, which appears to be past the worst. We favor global equities ex-US, emerging markets and smaller companies. Emerging market equities ex-China have been resilient in the face of one of the fastest US rate-hiking cycles on record. This reflects significant reforms over the prior decades, robust domestic consumption and healthy balance sheets. India and Mexico stand out as benefiting from prior reforms, which has attracted foreign investment and raised capital expenditure. South Korea and Taiwan could see a significant recovery in the year ahead as the technology cycle turns more favorable, driving earnings higher.
In our view, a recovery in earnings, monetary easing by the Fed and the healthy state of corporate and household balance sheets will drive global ex-US market returns in 2024. Easier financial conditions globally will likely have a disproportionate effect on small companies. A busy global election calendar and geopolitics are sources of risk for investors, but we believe they are unlikely to divert investor attention from positive fundamental factors driving long-term equity returns.”