Why HSBC is 'turbo bullish' as the Iran war drags on — but its analysts are rethinking Europe

Strategists at banking giant HSBC are "max bullish" on stocks even as the Iran war drags on, as attention turns to Big Tech earnings momentum. In a note to clients published on Tuesday, the lender's global multi-asset team — led by chief multi-asset strategist Max Kettner — said it was "still turbo bullish despite the Middle East conflict." Global stocks were volatile in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. and Israel's first strikes on Iran in late February, but have since shown resilience, with many major indexes recouping losses and now trading higher than before the war began. HSBC said it is "max bullish" on equities, arguing that the impact of the Middle East news flow on risk assets is asymmetric. "Temporary setbacks do little to equities, particularly in the US (and by extension the broader risk asset spectrum in credit, rates and FX too)," the bank's strategists wrote. "Any step closer to the Strait of Hormuz reopening would likely be taken as a significant positive, though." HSBC backs U.S. stocks The team has cut an overweight position in European equities, and extended an overweight to U.S. stocks ahead of earnings reports from Big Tech firms, including Microsoft , Amazon , Alphabet , Meta and Apple . "Fundamentally, things remain particularly strong in the U.S.," they said. …