by Chris Becker
We’re at that stage in market psychology where even good(ish) news gets talked down and converted into a further excuse to sell, plus the usual scaremongering over terrorism, Ebola and wearing a burqa (niqab). Risk off is the meme of the moment, with US and European stock markets falling, the latter down almost 1% with the former taking bigger falls. There was also a race to bonds with US Treasury Notes (10 years) yields falling to 2.4% with similar moves in German Bunds and UK Gilts.
As the QE go-go juice program nears its end, risk markets are looking decidely skittish, and even though the September ISM print in the US was expansive, the slightly weaker core components sent stocks tumbling.