Should we fear what lies ahead?
As the Wall Street Journal reported this morning, “a raft of unsettling events have shattered the relative calm of the U.S. stock market and put investors on edge.” Concerns over Iraq and rising oil prices, Fed Policy jitters and other worries helped trigger a 12% jump in the VIX fear gauge and sent the S&P 500 down 0.7% last week, its worst performance in two months.
We wanted to know what you thought: Are we entering a new phase of market turbulence?
At the time of this post, 60% voted YES; 40% voted NO.
Those who voted YES had this to say:
- Mass murder, religious warfare, ethnic cleansing, civil war. but who cares? The S&P is at an all time high!!! Complacency in the face of serious global turmoil, plus strengthening economic fundamentals in the US/EU - which means the markets may soon run out of positive expectations to build on
- ... but tops are a process. Markets are a few months away from a significant top
- Bull markets cannot last forever, especially with the slow growth
Those who voted NO reasoned:
- It doesn't appear stocks are being bought for economic reasons. It's buybacks and large players like sov wealth funds, those bailing from bonds, etc.