Sharemarket rout: Flirting with the bear

By Alex Pollak
Updated February 12 2016 - 5:18pm, first published 4:29pm
Some reining in of market enthusiasm is probably right. But a bear market?
Some reining in of market enthusiasm is probably right. But a bear market?

Around the globe, markets are flirting with the bear. The ASX 200 reached a 20 per cent fall from its peak level this week, which is the official point at which a market correction becomes a rout. The same goes for Britain's FTSE, while the S&P 500 is still off only 12.2 per cent from its high in June and the Nasdaq is down 17 per cent.