Investing.com -- Citigroup (NYSE:C) downgraded U.S. equities to Neutral and upgraded Chinese equities to Overweight, citing a pause in the so-called "U.S. exceptionalism," with expectations that growth momentum in the world’s leading economy may lag behind the rest of the world (RoW) in the coming months.
“In line with our view that U.S. exceptionalism is at least pausing, we make changes to equities and credit in our Global Asset Allocation (GAA),” Citi strategists said in a note.
“We had downgraded equities from overweight to neutral in our last GAA and have been underweight credit. We think this remains the right view,” they added.
The downward revision of U.S. equities from an overweight position, which Citi held since October 2023, was triggered by cautionary signals from two of the bank’s models on Friday and today.
“In the big picture, US equity outperformance may well return when the AI narrative takes over again, but in the coming months, we expect US growth momentum to undershoot the RoW,” the strategists said.
In the credit sector, Citi has removed its U.S. high-yield (HY) overweight, now underweight in U.S. investment-grade (IG) credit, while also closing its underweight position in European Union investment-grade (EU IG) credit.
The upgrade of China equities to Overweight comes despite the recent rally, as the market “screens well,” the strategists noted.
Meanwhile, even with the ongoing risk of tariffs, Citi maintains its Underweight position in Japan, a move that “should offer some protection.”
“There is also the possibility of reaching resolution in trade discussions with China, which would be very positive. The change leaves us overall still neutral on equities,” strategists added.