Tech holdings have helped pension investors withstand the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Here’s something scarier than Halloween: the Bank Panic of 1907, the Wall Street crash of 1929 and Black Monday in 1987 all happened in October. Market historians dub it the October effect – and right now there is a severe chill rippling through global stock markets.
The FTSE 100 has tumbled to a six-month low, while Germany’s Dax index is trading at May’s prices. Spain’s Ibex index, the worst-hit bourse in Europe, is nearly back to the floor it hit during March, when the country was in the continent’s strictest lockdown. Youth unemployment is soaring, consumer confidence is sagging, and a steep rise in Wall Street’s “fear index”, the Vix, is spooking investors.
