Tech firms lift markets but won't save the day

The world's infatuation with all things digital may be superseded by more pressing challenges

In the United States, the best-performing stock market sectors in 2020 are technology and consumer discretionary. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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One of the most perplexing phenomena last year has been the performance of stock markets. Unperturbed by more than 60 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 1.5 million deaths, share prices continued their upward trajectory.

As global economic activity contracted by more than 4 per cent and hundreds of millions of jobs were lost, stock market indexes reached new all-time highs.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on January 24, 2021, with the headline Tech firms lift markets but won't save the day. Subscribe