The A-Team of Stocks Is Led by a Telco This Year: Taking Stock

Besides sharing first initials, Altice Europe, ASM International, Altran Technologies and AMS also have a performance in common: all have roughly doubled in value this year, and, in the case of Altice, almost tripled. Growth, scarcity, recovery and balance-sheet strength are the winning themes for stock pickers in a year mostly dominated by defensive sectors.

Heading into the final quarter, this year’s biggest-gaining equities in Europe are tech-heavy and showcase some strong comebacks. While 2019’s headlines have been dominated by global economic growth concerns related to the trade war and political turmoil in the U.S. and the U.K., it hasn’t been enough to derail the sharp rally in some of the tech and telecom names.