March 2020 marked the worst and swiftest market meltdown in history. The triple whammy of coronavirus-fuelled economic damage, oil price war and looming global recession caused worldwide panic and triggered massive sell-off across portfolios as investors scrambled to meet margin calls and raise liquidity. Oil prices plummeted >20%, global equities plunged >10-30% and UST yields fell to the lowest in history, even as governments worldwide pumped trillions to prop up economies and central banks undertook emergency interest rate cuts.
In a matter of weeks, we have tumbled into a bear market with record soaring debt levels. The damage to the global economy is expected to last for years and any semblance of a market recovery is likely to be short lived if the coronavirus pandemic persists. Governments worldwide are now scrambling to contain COVID-19, with the expected infected and death toll to continue rising until the year end, and an optimistic projection of a ready vaccine to be available earliest in 12-18 months.
