Keep calm and carry on

Adam Reynolds

GLOBAL stock markets are reacting poorly to rising interest rates around the world as May has seen a continuation of the sell-off in stocks and bonds which started in early January.

So far this year US stocks have fallen close to 20 per cent as measured by the S&P 500 index, with the Nasdaq Tech index dropping an even larger 30 per cent. The picture is no better in Asia with both Hong Kong and China down around 18 per cent since the start of the year and 38 per cent from the post-Covid highs set in Q1 2021.