Europe may lose its lure for investors

The tide may be about to turn for investors who have shunned European companies with exposure to a US market roiled by the credit crisis.

A preference over the past year for European firms with domestically focused operations or a strong emerging market presence is under review as growth in Europe starts to decelerate and Asia feels the pain of inflation driven by higher commodity prices.

"The outlook on US growth is weak, but it is not likely to deteriorate more, and relative to Europe, the US is going to look a bit more resilient," said Mislav Matejka, European equity strategist at JPMorgan.