"Buy Europe!" has been the rallying cry as the eurozone has gradually emerged from its long, drawn-out recession. Since late June, European stocks have been on a tear, with all of the major indexes scoring double-digit percentage gains, helped by ultraloose global monetary policy. But for next year, the question may be: which parts of Europe should investors buy?

November's manufacturing purchasing managers' indexes from Markit both confirm and challenge the narrative that investors have broadly been following. The eurozone is crawling forward: The manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 in November, its highest level since June 2011 but hardly stellar. Germany was strong, while France was weak. So far, no surprises.