Market likely to remain in crisis mode

THE stock market slipped into full-fledged crisis mode last week - something that is likely to continue this week unless the January jobs report can break the gloomy mood.

In January, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 5 per cent, the largest monthly loss since May 2012 and the worst January performance since 2009. Stock market bears are likely licking their chops, thinking of the old adage that "as goes January, so goes the year".

Whether or not the January slide continues depends on whether financial instability in Argentina, Turkey and other over-leveraged emerging markets leads to the defaults and currency devaluations that characterised the last emerging markets crisis, in 1997 and 1998.