Monday 22 June 2020
Global Investment View
Covid-19 has triggered a sequence of economic and financial market narratives and is giving way to a new status quo characterised by extreme fiscal and monetary measures, to which markets have responded well, though some volatility has returned in the past few days. In effect, these policy measures are painting a new picture, that of a “day after” renaissance.
Over the last month, markets lacked a clear direction owing to US banking sector stress, uncertainty regarding the US debt ceiling, and signs of economic deceleration amid tightening of credit conditions.
The broader equity markets have digested the March turmoil, but the disruption continues to be evident in the US regional banking sector, which is not showing signs of recovery.
March brought a wake-up call to markets after a complacent start to the year. The trigger was the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and other US regional banks, followed by Credit Suisse in Europe.
