Global bond and equity markets shrink $5tn in 2018

By Robin Wigglesworth in New York

Financial markets are headed for an unusually bad year, with the overall global bond and equity universe shrinking by a cumulative $5tn since the start of 2018 — the biggest contraction of capital markets since the financial crisis.
Parallel declines in both bonds and equities are rare, as stocks tend to do better when growth is robust and fixed income thrives more in subdued or poor economic conditions. In 2008 the global equity market shrank by more than $18tn, even as the bond market was buoyed by investors desperate for the relative safety it offers.