Economic Affairs

Soaring market, crashing economy: What's going on?

Support from the US Federal Reserve and other stimulus measures are one reason for the disconnect. Risks lie ahead when some of the props end.

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Over the last 85 days, some of us have watched in wonder as the US stock market has risen like a supercharged phoenix from its lows of March 23, before hitting a speed bump on June 11, when the S&P 500 had its biggest one-day drop since March 16. Nevertheless, it is still less than 10 per cent off its all-time high on Feb 19, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq has continued making records.

Let's try to make sense of what is going on, what risks may lie lurking - and what may lie beyond.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 17, 2020, with the headline Soaring market, crashing economy: What's going on?. Subscribe