IN THE early days of the Covid-19 outbreak, economic activity plummeted as many countries imposed movement restrictions to slow the spread of the virus, and stock prices plunged. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 35 per cent between Dec 31, 2019 and Mar 23, 2020. Remarkably, it closed up 7 per cent between end-2019 and end-2020. Between end-2020 and end-2021, the DJIA rallied a further 19 per cent. 

Driving the recovery in US equities and other stock markets elsewhere from Covid-driven market lows, effective vaccines were made available from mid-2020, and central banks rolled out a combination of aggressive monetary easing and huge fiscal spending.