“It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear” Donald Trump, explaining Federal efforts to contain the pandemic.

Market Commentary

We hope everyone is staying safe during this difficult and stressful period. Once again our commentary is focused on the financial market implications of covid-19 given the unprecedented global economic impact. We are in a fast-moving and fluid situation with regards to the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, highlighted by the fact that we have experienced the fastest bear market in record.

On one hand, there are signs real-money investors like pension funds are ready to step in and buy now that panic liquidations look to have slowed. There are also signs of improvement in some of the world’s regions that were hardest-hit by the virus (China, South Korea) which shows a road map to others. On the other, the number of infections globally continues to accelerate with large-scale containment measures being put in place to “flatten the infection curve”.

Hot spots Italy, France and Spain all recently reported a fall in death rates and new cases. While there are tentative signs that the lock-downs are working, with the number of deaths in New York dropping, this comes as the US is set to prepare for its worst week in regards to peak cases. It is also a big positive that central banks and governments around the world have learnt from the 2008 global financial crisis. They are being extremely proactive in terms of reducing the economic impact from COVID-19 containment measures.