The markets are exhibiting extraordinary behaviour at the moment. The portfolio benchmark, the FT350 is down 8.5%. The MHP is down 18.5%, with everything at least down 10%, with the exception of FXPO, which is down “only” 7.3%.
Airline tour operator DTG (Dart) is down 42% after announcing that it has stopped flights to Spain. SLP (Sylvania Platinum) is down 36%.
The fall in the indices has been relentless. We’re down about 40% from the peak earlier this year.
The Dow circuit breaker kicked in earlier. I’m not sure the exact status right now, but the prognosis is bad.
The S&P500 is still on a PE of 17.2, which is still above the long-term average of around 15. Arguably, it still hasn’t factored in likely forward earnings despite the falls that it has suffered so far.
Could it fall a further 50% from here? Well, it’s not impossible, and there’s a good argument for it being within the realms of possibility. I’m not so bold as to suggest that it’s probable, though.
Stay safe out there.
Mark Carter's blog 