The thaw in Europe's long crisis could warm up its stock market.

欧洲持续了很长时间的危机有所缓解，这可能会令欧洲股市回暖。

Faint glimmers of economic life on the continent are luring investors who have been keen on European companies' promise but spooked by the region's debt crisis and its poor outlook for growth.

欧洲经济显现的微弱复苏迹象正在吸引一直看好欧洲公司前景的投资者，此前该地区的债务危机和低迷的增长前景一度令他们望而却步。

Fresh survey data suggest the 17-country euro zone may be edging out of a long recession, even if just barely.

最新调查数据显示，有17个成员国的欧元区可能正在慢慢走出持续了很长时间的衰退，即便只是勉强达到这种程度。

'Growth in the euro zone is still hovering around zero, but it has been getting better, and the market is responding to that,' says Rory McPherson of Russell Investments' multi-asset group in London. He has turned more bullish on European stocks. With share prices still cheap compared with those in the U.S., 'there's a lot of potential,' Mr. McPherson says.

罗素投资(Russell Investments)驻伦敦的多种资产团队的麦克弗森(Rory McPherson)说，欧元区经济增长率仍在零水平附近徘徊，但情况已有好转，市场正在对此做出反应。他已转为更加看好欧洲股票。麦克弗森说，考虑到欧洲股票价格与美国相比仍较为便宜，因此有很大的上行空间。

He's not alone. Strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) late last month upgraded their 12-month assessment of European stocks and now forecast a return of about 13% for the broad Stoxx Europe 600, against around 8% for the S& 500.

他并不是唯一看好欧洲股市的人。高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)的策略师上月末上调了对欧洲股市的12个月评估，目前预计欧洲斯托克600指数的回报率将在13%左右，其对标准普尔500指数回报率的预期为8%左右。

Why are investors giving the Old Continent a new look?

投资者为何改变了对欧洲市场的看法？

Some favorable winds are blowing. Despite a healthy rally over the past year, European stocks are still relatively inexpensive. The companies behind them generate plenty of cash and pay solid dividends. And Europe itself is less of a worry than one might think: European companies, especially big ones, generate a greater proportion of sales outside Europe than their U.S. peers do overseas.

欧洲股市开始吹起阵阵顺风。尽管过去一年涨势良好，但欧洲股票价格仍相对便宜。欧洲上市公司产生了大量现金流，并且派发了大量股息。此外，欧洲本身情况并不像人们可能认为的那么令人担忧，欧洲公司（尤其是大型公司）在欧洲以外地区的销售表现要强于美国公司的海外销售表现。

In short, if Europe's economy even stabilizes, bulls say, European stocks are a good way to benefit from the earnings power of big, developed-world companies--at a better price than U.S. shares and without the stomach-turning volatility of Japan.

简言之，多头认为，如果欧洲经济进一步企稳，欧洲股市是投资大型发达国家公司的不错选择，其价格要低于美国股票，并且不会出现日本股市那样的剧烈波动。

Like their counterparts in the U.S., European stocks were hit hard by the financial crisis. Then they were whacked again when Europe's debt crisis ballooned in 2011.

与美国股市一样，欧洲股市也曾受到金融危机的重创。2011年债务危机加剧之际，欧洲股市再度受到冲击。

They have since improved, helped by the ocean of liquidity from global central banks and the rising appetite for risk that has pushed investors into stocks. Over the past year, the Stoxx Europe 600 is up 14.5%. The S& 500 is up 23%.

从那以后，欧洲股市已有所回暖，主要受全球央行提供大规模流动性以及市场风险偏好升温（这两因素都提振了股票投资）提振。过去一年，欧洲斯托克600指数累计上涨14.5%。同期标准普尔500指数累计上涨23%。

While U.S. stocks are now above their 2007 peaks, euro-zone markets generally aren't. (Germany's benchmark DAX is, but that index is computed with reinvested dividends. Absent that, it remains below.) The bludgeoned markets of Portugal, Ireland and Greece are at less than half their peaks, Greece much less.

在美国股市已达到2007年峰值上方之际，欧洲市场涨势大体还没有达到这种程度。（德国基准DAX指数达到了这一水平，但这是计入了股息再投资的影响，剔除这个因素，该指数还位于峰值下方。）曾经受到重创的葡萄牙、爱尔兰和希腊股市目前不到其峰值水平的一半，希腊股市则远不及峰值的一半。

'There are a lot of hidden gems that are being penalized for being listed in Europe,' says Michael Barakos, chief investment officer for European equities at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London.

摩根富林明资产管理(JPMorgan Asset Management)驻伦敦的欧洲股票部门首席投资长巴瑞克斯(Michael Barakos)说，有许多不错的公司因为在欧洲上市而受到牵累。

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips, for example, is packed with global companies like pharmaceutical giants Sanofi SA (SAN.FR) and Bayer AG (BAYRY, BAYN.XE), auto maker Daimler AG (DDAIY, DAI.XE), brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD, ABI.BT), and consumer-goods titan Unilever (UN, UNA.AE). It is trading at 11.7 times the next year's expected earnings, according to FactSet data. In the U.S., the megabrands of the Dow Jones Industrial Average trade at 13.5.

举例来讲，欧元区蓝筹股指数欧元区斯托克50指数(Euro Stoxx 50 index)成分股公司中有很多全球企业，包括制药巨头赛诺菲(Sanofi SA)和拜耳(Bayer AG)、汽车生产商戴姆勒(Daimler AG)、酿酒公司安海斯-布希公司(Anheuser-Busch InBev)和消费品巨头联合利华(Unilever)。据FactSet的数据，该指数根据明年预期每股收益计算的市盈率为11.7倍。在美国，道琼斯工业股票平均价格指数市盈率为13.5倍。

Mr. Barakos says many European companies, especially those with good international exposure, aren't beset by the problems that have dragged down European governments and banks.

巴瑞克斯说，很多欧洲公司，特别是在全球拥有相当规模业务的公司，并没有遭遇令欧洲政府和银行受到打击的问题。

'Corporate Europe is very different to sovereign Europe or consumer Europe or financial Europe,' he says. One example: Volkswagen AG (VLKAY, VOW.XE), which he bought just before it released earnings last week. It sells a lot of cars in Germany, of course, but also has a key franchise selling sporty autos in emerging markets. 'They make incredible margins,' Mr. Barakos says. Volkswagen's earnings beat estimates, and the stock climbed.

他说，欧洲企业与欧洲主权国家、欧洲消费者或欧洲金融业极为不同。大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)就是一个例子。该公司上周发布收益报告前，巴瑞克斯刚刚买进了该公司股票。大众汽车无疑在德国销售了很多汽车，但它还有一个主要的子品牌在新兴市场销售跑车。巴瑞克斯说，他们实现了令人难以置信的利润率。大众汽车的收益高于市场预期，股票价格上涨。

To be sure, Europe has about as many caveats as it has castles.

诚然，欧洲需要注意的问题几乎与欧洲的古堡一样多。

The debt crisis continues: Even if it hasn't recently caused acute panic--and thus a flight from risk that would hurt stocks--it is weakening troubled countries. Italy's debt is colossal, and Spain's is zooming up.

债务危机仍在继续：即使债务危机最近没有引发剧烈恐慌（因此没有出现可能有损股票的避险情绪），却令陷入困境的国家日益疲弱。意大利的债务规模庞大无比，西班牙的债务规模也在增大。

The crisis has also left a stubborn, worrisome dearth of credit in Europe. The European Central Bank has been generous with liquidity, but many businesses aren't getting the bank lending they need. 'There's plenty of money in the system, but it is not working its way into the right places,' says Mr. McPherson of Russell.

债务危机还给欧洲留下了顽固的、令人担忧的信贷不足问题。欧洲央行(European Central Bank)在流动性方面一直很慷慨，但很多企业却没有获得它们需要的银行贷款。罗素投资的麦克弗森说，系统内有大量资金，但却没有流到该去的地方。

A pronounced slowdown in China would also cast a cloud, because Europe is depending on the rest of the world for growth. If that happens, 'European luxury-good makers will sooner or later start to feel the consequences,' says Edward Chancellor of GMO LLC.

如果中国经济增长明显放缓，也可能给欧洲经济蒙上阴云，因为欧洲正在依靠世界其他地方实现增长。GMO LLC的钱塞勒(Edward Chancellor)说，如果发生这种情况，欧洲奢侈品生产商迟早会开始感觉到其影响。

And the European economy remains in very poor shape, even if it is improving. The data that have energized investors would be uninspiring had the background not been so miserable.

此外，即使欧洲经济开始好转，却仍处于非常糟糕的状况。若不是之前的情况很差，出炉的数据可能让投资者们觉得无关痛痒，而不是像现在这样精神一振。

A closely watched euro-zone purchasing-managers index came in at 50.4 for July, according to data-provider Markit, the first time it has been above the 50 threshold that signals expansion since January 2012. And euro-zone retail sales for May showed a rise of 1% from April, though they were still a hair lower than May 2012.

据数据提供商Markit的数据，备受关注的欧元区采购经理人指数7月份为50.4，是自2012年1月以来首次处于50这个荣枯分水岭以上。此外，5月份欧元区零售额较4月份增长1%，不过仍略低于2012年5月份。

Still, says Kevin Gardiner, chief investment officer for Europe at Barclays PLC's (BCS, BARC.LN) wealth- and investment-management business, 'European equities can do better than their local economies would suggest.'

尽管如彼，巴克莱(Barclays PLC)旗下财富及投资管理业务欧洲首席投资长加德纳(Kevin Gardiner)说，欧洲股票表现可能会比当地经济所显示出来的要好。