April 3 Reuters Barclays on Wednesday raised its 2024 yearend target for Europe39;s STOXX 600 index to 540 from 510, and also turned bullish on the broader region on bets of easing borrowing costs, cheaper valuations and improving domestic growth.

The brokerage39;s new target implies a near6 upside to the benchmark index39;s Tuesday39;s close of 508.57, and joins Citigroup and Goldman Sachs which lifted their targets to 540 in March.

We see catchup potential for Europe, Barclays economists said as they upgraded the region to overweight.

Structural issues and geopolitical risks for Europe are not going away, while Big Tech still plays for the U.S., but we see relative value and depressed positioning improving the tactical riskreward for EuropeUK, the brokerage added.

With China being a major market for major European sectors like luxury, Barclays said signs of stabilization in the recovery of the world39;s secondlargest economy will also aid European equities.

Data on Wednesday showed euro zone inflation fell unexpectedly in March, solidifying the case for the European Central Bank ECB to start lowering borrowing costs from record highs.

Inflation has been on a steady downward path for more than a year, but the pace of decline has increased since last autumn, shifting the debate to just how soon and how fast the ECB will unwind rates.

Europe appears to be rebounding from a low level, amid improving manufacturing, easing financial conditions and improving consumer…