Five world markets themes next week

2 November 2009  Reuters

Following are five big themes likely to dominate the thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/ SWINGS AHEAD

Volatility, both actual and implied, in financial asset classes is on the rise after a week in which world stocks suffered their biggest one-day selloff since August. This is injecting a further note of circumspection into markets that were already finding upside earning surprises an insufficient reason to drive stocks higher. While the latest Reuters asset allocation poll shows fund managers rebuilt equity positions in October, it came at the expense of bonds, and cash holdings also rose -- perhaps reflecting views about which asset class will be hardest hit by central banks discussing and implementing the unwinding of ultra-accommodative monetary policies.

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE59T2YL20091030