European Investors' Appetite for U.S. Stocks Wanes, Long-Term Decoupling May Begin

Odaily News Recently, despite Trump moderating his tone towards Europe, Wall Street remains concerned that his hostility and disparagement towards the continent could lead to one of the largest buyer groups for U.S. stocks exiting the market. In fact, signs indicate this is already happening. Vincent Mortier, Chief Investment Officer of Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager overseeing 2.3 trillion euros ($2.7 trillion), stated: "We are seeing more and more clients wanting to diversify away from U.S. stock risk. This trend started in April 2025 but accelerated this week." He noted that any form of "decoupling" would be a long-term and complex process. European investors hold approximately $10.4 trillion in U.S. stocks, with over half held by investors from the eight countries threatened by Trump with tariff hikes. Hugo Ste-Marie, a strategist at Scotiabank, pointed out that European holdings account for 49% of all foreign-held U.S. stocks, a proportion large enough to pose a threat to the market. While a coordinated European sell-off of U.S. assets is unlikely, as Trump's threats and insults persist, fund managers from London to Berlin to Madrid are receiving increasing inquiries from clients about reducing exposure to U.S. assets. (Jin10)