As world equity markets registered their worst month in history with investors losing an estimated US$5.7tr in October alone, Irish equity markets fell 63.3pc in the year so far, according to Standard & Poor’s latest estimates.
Standard & Poor’s estimates for October alone saw Irish equity markets fall 25.3pc in September and 24.6pc in October.
This is far greater than the UK where equity markets fell 45pc so far this year and 18pc in October.
US equity markets fell 33.9pc so far this year and 12.7pc in October.
Measured in dollar change to investor-held equity accounts, Standard & Poor’s data shows that the October loss of the 52 global equity markets was 45pc above that of September when markets lost a then record US$4tr.
Standard & Poor’s estimates that investors have lost US$16.22tr year-to-date through October.
“What do you get when you add the underlying concern of the economy and the fear of a worldwide recession to a market already devastated by credit issues?” asked Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s.
“You get the worst-ever month for global equity markets in modern history.
“Overlooked, however, is the fact that the US market has been one of the better performing markets over the past five months – although the losses are substantial,” adds Silverblatt.
“To some extent, the much higher expectations of non-US growth, as well as the expected US decoupling, have caused a much stronger market decline abroad. As a result, the US now represents 45.9pc of all global equity issues, compared to 40.5pc at the end of May,” Silverblatt said.
By John Kennedy
