GLOBAL markets have slipped into a correction status following the novel coronavirus outbreak in multiple countries.The MCSI All Country World Index , which shows the movement of global equity markets as a whole has fallen 11% over the week on February 24-28.
This caused the fund asset value to fall to levels last seen in October 2019. In Asia-Pacific, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 9.6% while South Korea’s Kospi fell by 8%. Chinese A-shares fell by 5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 4%, and markets everywhere experienced severe capital withdrawals.Investment funds are shunning risky assets, and risky bonds are not being exempted.
The US 10-year Treasury yields continue to set new historical lows. Due to the combined effect from purchases by investors seeking safe havens and interest rate cuts, US 10-year treasury yields fell to a record low of 1.11% on February 28. Due to increased investor concerns over risk, international capital is scrambling to seek safer assets thus increasing the imbalance in global financial markets.
Central banks, such as the Federal Reserve, could support the market by implementing expansionary monetary policy.