European investors' appetite for US stocks diminishes; long-term decoupling may be underway

Odaily Planet Daily News: Recently, although Trump has slowed down his rhetoric against Europe, Wall Street remains concerned that his hostility and denigration of the European continent could lead to one of the largest buyer groups of US stocks exiting the market. In fact, there are signs that this is already happening. Vincent Mortier, Chief Investment Officer of Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager with €2.3 trillion (about $2.7 trillion) in assets, said, “We are seeing more and more clients wanting to diversify away from US stock risk. This trend started in April 2025, but has accelerated this week.” He stated that any form of “decoupling” would be a long-term and complex process. European investors hold about $10.4 trillion in US stocks, with more than half held by investors from eight countries threatened by Trump’s tariff threats. Hugo Ste-Marie, strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, pointed out that Europeans hold 49% of foreign-held US stocks, a large proportion that could pose a threat to the market. While it is unlikely that Europeans will act in unison to sell US assets, with Trump’s threats and insults continuing, fund managers from London to Berlin to Madrid are increasingly receiving inquiries from clients about reducing US holdings. (Jin10)