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US investors hungry for European stocks: CFO

'Resurgence' of US investors in Europe: CFO
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'Resurgence' of US investors in Europe: CFO

High unemployment, falling prices and hefty debt levels haven't dissuaded U.S. investors from taking a bite out of equities in Europe, according to a growing chorus of analysts and business figures.

Carlo Ferro, the chief financial officer (CFO) of STMicroelectronics, told CNBC Thursday that he had spoken to a slew of global investors who appeared to be focused on snapping up stocks that are competitively valued when compared to other developed markets.

"I have met a number of investors - including in the U.S. - and frankly my takeaway from the U.S.A. is that there is a clear (resurgence) of interest towards European equities," he said.

"(They are) understanding that the current exchange rate may significantly reshape competitiveness of European players."

U.S. stock indexes like the outperformed other global bourses last year and have continued to hit record highs in 2015. However, analysts like Goldman Sachs' Peter Oppenheimer argue that the gains are now coming at a slower rate than their European counterparts.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to pump more liquidity into the euro zone economy, which has helped the region's common currency to slide increasingly lower against the U.S. dollar. This has given Europe's exporters a boost, and both the German DAX index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 have already registered all-time highs this year.

STMicroelectronics is a French-Italian multinational electronics and semiconductor manufacturer, and Ferro said there were now "moderating signs of optimism and recovery" in his industry.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

He conceded that the euro zone was in deflation, according to official figures, but pointed to "good signs of demand recovery."

The euro's move lower was "very welcome," Ferro said, and had helped businesses gain a "competitive positioning" in the global economy. For instance, research and development costs for STMicroelectronics in Italy have fallen 8 percent on the back of the currency's decline.

Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, shares similar thoughts to Oppenheimer. He told CNBC earlier this month that good dividend-paying stocks could be found in battered euro zone bourses.

While on Thursday, Jeremy Stretch, head of FX Strategy at CIBC, told CNBC that an improving growth picture and the launch of the ECB's quantitative easing program had painted an optimistic scenario for European stock markets.