Markets: Shifts have been fast and gut-wrenching but not irrational – Morgan Stanley

We’re living through a period of unprecedented market volatility as well as remarkable velocity of price movements. Lisa Shalett, a Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Stanley, analyzes the market shifts.

Key quotes

“Too few buyers, when nearly every asset class is declining in price, is a recipe for the kind of extreme volatility across asset classes we’re seeing lately.”

“Our global-growth forecasts have also come down, and we foresee a global recession for the first half of 2020, followed by a recovery in the second half, with fourth-quarter GDP growth of more than 2%.”

“Market shifts have been fast and gut-wrenching, but not completely irrational. The worst economic damage can be confined to the second quarter, setting the stage for a healthy rebound into 2021. The next three weeks could be critical to assessing the damage and the repairs ahead.”