Sifting through the stock market wreckage

Maike Currie

AFTER an exceptional 2021, this year was never going to be an easy ride for investors. With the world’s largest economy, the US, moving towards monetary normalisation, choppier market conditions were only to be expected. Add to this a brutal mix of snarled supply chains, rising inflationary pressures, Russia’s war in Ukraine and mounting fears about possible recessionary slowdown, and it’s made for a humbling experience even for seasoned investors.

Tech and other growth-oriented companies have sold off in dramatic fashion, while “old economy” companies, such as the oil majors and mining stocks, are striding ahead. The UK, for years a pariah stock market, has suddenly become a safe place to see out the storm, while the US (never bet against Uncle Sam) has come off the boil.