0044 GMT - Australian mall owners' price-to-earnings multiples could expand this year, reckons JPMorgan. The bank is optimistic about the local consumer early in 2025, forecasting private consumption growth of 5%. "This positive outlook for retail sales is assisted by the prospect of rate cuts, strong discretionary income growth, savings rates which have rebounded and population growth which is tracking at 2%," analyst Richard Jones says. Not much new retail space is likely in 2025 and JPMorgan believes the penetration of e-commerce has stabilized. That's all good news because price-to-earnings multiples of retail REITs are positively correlated with sales, the bank says. JPMorgan has overweight calls on Vicinity Centres, GPT, Scentre, and Charter Hall Retail REIT, among others. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2025 19:44 ET (00:44 GMT)
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