Don't Panic! The Black Monday storm is clearing

by Paul Northmore, Managing Director

This week has been a rollercoaster of a ride for the markets with Monday 24th August being named 'Black Monday'.

The tumble in Chinese equities as a result of a slowdown in the economy has taken its toll on global equity and bond markets with the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index falling over 8%.

This was followed by European and then US market falls, the FTSE 100 finished 4.7% lower at 5,898.87 and the S&P down 3.9%.

The slowdown in China and the devaluation of its currency have spooked markets. We have seen a significant fall in commodity prices on the back of this as well as significant falls in stocks with exposure to China. In addition we are facing further falls in the oil price which is having an adverse effect on oil and gas companies. Some of this we have seen first hand at the fuel pumps.