2018: A snowball in the face for stock markets

At the start of 2018, financial markets were brimming with confidence. The previous year had been a cake-walk for equities, with volatility at record lows and valuations rising steadily.

The US corporate tax cuts were acting as a tailwind and stock markets kicked off the year impressively. Then, on January 29, the US market had a modest correction which snowballed over the following days. By February 9 US stocks had fallen by 12% and the world’s exchange-listed companies had been marked down by over $5tn.