Markets in tailspin; volatility to continue till central banks give clarity

Singapore

GLOBAL markets are being battered, with no reprieve in sight in the absence of clear cues from central banks and oil producers.

The global anxiety over asset classes has reverberated across equity markets in the past few days. On Thursday, Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 44.51 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 3,154.21 points, following Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index which lost 2.22 per cent and 1.03 per cent respectively (view infographic: Market maelstrom).

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Index plunged more than 400 points before recovering to close 173 points lower.

The Vix index, which tracks the volatility of S&P 500 stocks, hit its highest level since June 2012, while yields on 10-year US Treasuries lurc…