Slowing growth will crash European stock party

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – European shares have been on the rise for seven months, outshining their U.S. counterparts, and are now just 6% below their record high. Yet the region's companies are running out of puff. An unprecedented bout of rate hikes will erode profits, margins and demand. The bloc still looks cheap, but for good reason. Investors in Europe have had an uncommonly good time of late. The STOXX Europe 600 Index (.STOXX) currently sits at around 460, within spitting distance of its 494.35 all-time high from January 2022. Since hitting its recent lows in late September,…