Among S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, EPS growth is running at 6% y/y, surprising positively by 4%, JPMorgan strategists say in emailed note. So far, in the U.S. about 40% of companies have reported, while in Europe only 16% and in Japan 21% of companies have released 4Q results, JPMorgan strategists Mislav Matejka, Prabhav Bhadani and Nitya Saldanha say In the U.S., most sectors are seeing positive earnings surprises, with tech earnings leading in strength In Europe, 64% of Stoxx 600 companies beat EPS estimates, the highest level since 2017; EPS growth is negative 3% y/y, but 2% ahead of expectations; among sectors, commodity and industrials are weak while tech, discretionary, real estate and utilities are delivering better results In Japan, 53% of Topix companies beat estimates, with overall growth at negative 4% y/y European companies that are beating earnings are being rewarded by investors, while misses aren't being proportionately penalized -- in contrast