Investors prepare for more market swings as virus spreads in the US
NEW YORK: With one of Wall Street's wildest weeks in recent memory now in the history books, investors are bracing for more uncertainty and big market swings ahead.
Overwhelmingly, caution remains the watchword for investors and analysts reeling from a week that saw all three US exchanges confirm bear markets, oil prices plummet to multiyear lows and wild fluctuations in bond yields and currencies.
Investors still have little clarity on the possible trajectory of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, the effectiveness of the government response and the eventual damage the virus will cause to the nation's economy and individual companies.
BATTERED
The White House on Saturday said it would extend a travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland, a move that could further hurt oil prices and airlines already battered by a ban announced last week.
"Right now, we view investing in the current environment using the hackneyed phrase of 'catching a falling knife'," said Mr Richard Bernstein, chief executive of Richard Bernstein Advisors in a note to investors and conference call.
"We see no need to rush into markets."
Mr Bernstein said the rush into US government bonds sparked by recent market swings has overstretched the prices of treasuries, which now sport yields near record lows.
Analytics firm Oxford Economics is warning investors to brace for more alarming headlines concerning the virus' spread in the US. - REUTERS
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