STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-CS sees another strong year for small caps

European small caps are set for another strong year, continuinga historical trend of outperformance in times of slow growth andbenefiting from attractive valuations, says Credit Suisse. The STOXX Europe Small 200 index is up 21 percent sofar in 2012, broadly on a par with the mid-caps andoutperforming a gain of 14 percent on the large caps. "Despite the tough economic environment in Europe, we notethat SMID (small/mid caps) has generated average returns of 10percent during similar years, thereby outperforming large capsby 700 basis points on average," Credit Suisse analyst EugeneKlerk writes in a European SMID outlook note. Although small and mid-caps are still trading on a premiumto their larger peers, the valuation gap is below its five yearaverage and below the historical average for years of similareconomic growth, Klerk adds. Credit Suisse adds Almirall, Autogrill,Dialog Semi, Flughafen Zuerich, Micro Focus, OC Oerlikon, Polarcus and TaylorWimpey to its SMID focus list. The list also includes APR Energy, Bodycote, Moneysupermarket.com, MTU Aero Engines, Ophir Energy and Rotork. Reuters messagingrm://antonina.vorobyova.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net