Credit Suisse Strategists See More Gains in Global Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG strategists said investors should favor stocks over bonds and cash and forecast gains in equity indexes worldwide ranging from 12 percent for Europe and 23 percent for Japan through mid-2010 as the economy recovers.
“This is the best phase of the economic cycle,” wrote a team of strategists led by Andrew Garthwaite in London in a report today. “We do not exclude a period of near-term consolidation, given that some of our tactical indicators are sending a signal of caution. Yet, other indicators suggest it is too early to sell.”

Credit Suisse forecasts the S&P 500 to rise 13 percent to 1,150 by mid-2010, according to a note to clients today.

Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas SA were raised to “overweight” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co., who wrote in a note today they are “switching preference from investment banks to credit banks on regulatory changes.” The two stocks were raised from “neutral,” the note said. The analysts increased their price estimate on stock of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Societe Generale SA and Credit Suisse Group AG, while cutting UBS AG shares to “neutral” from “overweight.”