Nasdaq Plunges, But European Stocks Hold Steady — Investors Split on What It Means

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The story

A YouTube video noted that while the Nasdaq plunged 6% in a single day, Europe’s STOXX 600 has actually outperformed the S&P 500 so far in 2026, arguing that European stocks are roughly 30% undervalued thanks to lower exposure to the AI bubble, with untapped growth potential through the single market and eurobonds, plus a staggering €10 trillion sitting idle in savings. This sparked a debate on the Lemmy forum’s c/europe community over whether now is the time to invest in Europe. While some agreed that European ETFs are more stable, there was also persistent pessimism on display: “the financial system still won’t be kind to us” and “all this will do is dismantle the safety net and turn us into an American-style unequal society.”

Is now the time to invest in Europe? While the Nasdaq dropped 6% in a single day, European stocks barely budged — and in fact, Europe’s STOXX 600 has outperformed the S&P 500 since the start of 2026. This video breaks down why. Europe has far less exposure to the AI bubble, its stocks trade at roughly a 30% discount to US stocks, and there’s untapped growth potential through the single market, the Capital Markets Union (CMU), and eurobonds — not to mention €10 trillion sitting idle in European bank accounts. So has the moment finally arrived to invest in Europe, or will this opportunity be squandered just like after the Draghi report?

Source: youtube.com / Original video here

What people said

3Anonymous2026-11-11 10:13
That's because Europeans are born carrying 1000kg of pessimism on their backs.
6Anonymous2026-11-11 10:01
Can you elaborate on the “won't be kind to us” part?
9Anonymous2026-11-11 09:50
I'm European myself, and I don't buy it. Even in the best-case scenario where Europe becomes a beacon of freedom and ethics, I still think the financial system won't be kind to us.
10Anonymous2026-11-11 10:21
I think it'll go one of two ways: either they completely tear down the safety net and turn us into “America 2.0” with its inequality, or they just won't invest at all because there isn't enough to squeeze out of us.
7Anonymous2026-11-11 10:20
So true.
8Anonymous2026-11-11 11:57
My euro-denominated European ETF is way more stable than my dollar-denominated US one. Rather than throwing money into the AI casino — sorry, I mean the S&P 500 — I'd rather park it in reliable investments within our own economy and grow slowly.
11Anonymous2026-11-11 13:38
I'm not so sure about the “untapped” part of the single market. I'd say the energy transition is Europe's biggest growth opportunity.
12Anonymous2026-11-11 14:06
The way you phrase it — “enough money” — makes it sound like it has to mean “all the money possible under the best-case scenario.” For companies, as long as there's a profit, that's enough. As long as it's more than zero, they'll invest whatever they can.
13Anonymous2026-11-11 14:05
(Quoting sexy_peach's comment “…completely dismantle the safety net…inequality widens…”) So if you're looking for a region or country with a stronger safety net and less inequality than Europe, where exactly would you invest instead?

Background and Key Points of This Debate

The “Draghi report” cited in the video is a set of proposals compiled in 2024 by former ECB president Mario Draghi, driven by concern over the EU’s declining competitiveness, which pointed to a fragmented internal capital market and insufficient investment. What split opinion in this thread was whether Europe’s undervalued stocks and idle savings represent a genuine growth opportunity, or whether they’re just more fuel for distrust — as summed up in comments like “this will only dismantle the safety net and create an American-style unequal society” and “companies won’t invest unless there’s a profit in it.” Even with the STOXX 600 holding up well as an index, a persistent skepticism ran through the comments that this wouldn’t necessarily translate into better everyday lives or reduced inequality for ordinary people — a cooler read that resists any simple bullish narrative.

*This article is excerpted from the thread “Is it Time to Invest In Europe?” on the overseas forum Lemmy’s c/europe community, and has been freely translated into Japanese by our editorial team. Responsibility for the translation rests with this site.

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