JPMorgan Chase Says S&P 500 Underperforming Europe and Japan Markets Due to US Policies, Unveils Stocks Offering ‘Opportunity’

Financial services giant JPMorgan Chase says European and Japanese markets are outperforming the S&P 500 due to US trade policies.

In a new article, JPMorgan global investment strategist Carter Griffin says that recent US policies – such as new tariffs and government spending bills – have caused the stock market index to lag behind its regional rivals.

“Policy evolution (such as new tariff announcements, a substantial U.S. government tax and spending bill, and infrastructure and defense investment in Europe) have played a role in the S&P 500’s underperformance (+9% year-to-date) versus other major developed world markets like Europe (+21%) and Japan (+15%) in U.S. dollar terms.”

Earlier this month, Trump slapped a 50% tariff on India over its Russian oil purchases and imposed a 39% levy on Swiss imports, as his massive “Big Beautiful Bill,” projected to cost $3.4 trillion over ten years, became law last month.

The strategist goes on to note that there is opportunity in the “chip stocks” sector – which refers to firms that manufacture, design, and sell semiconductors – largely driven by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

“A key driver of the sector’s performance has been the surging demand for AI chips, fueled by AI adoption. According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of firms reporting they’ve used AI in the last two weeks has doubled to over 9% since last year.

While adoption is currently low, the pace is increasing, with more than 11% of companies expecting to use AI in the next six months… We continue to see opportunity in the tech sector in companies that provide computing power and the software companies that harness that power.”

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