London — World stock markets fell for a fourth day running on Tuesday, having seen $4-trillion wiped off from what just eight days ago had been record high values. Europe’s main bourses were down about 2%, leaving investors with little option but to seek traditional refuges such as gold and one of the initial triggers for the sell-off — benchmark government bonds. Wall Street futures turned higher in Europe but commodities remained gloomy, with oil and industrial metals all tumbling as the year’s upbeat start for markets soured rapidly. "Price action is clearly driven by technical factors, tied to a brutal awakening of stock volatility," said Alessandro Balsotti, head of asset management at JCI Capital. "We are undoubtedly in uncharted waters." "Since last autumn, investors had been betting on the ‘Goldilocks’ economy — solid economic expansion, improving corporate earnings and stable inflation. But the tide seems to have changed," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist ...
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