Mideast Tension Prompts Investors to Move to Safety

With stock markets around the world tumbling since the war broke out between Israel and Lebanon eight days ago, an estimated $1.48 trillion has been wiped from valuations, according to Birinyi Associates, the Associated Press reports.

The declines are prompting investors to move to bond and money market funds.

"When you can tell me when all this will end in the Middle east, then I can tell you when the [stock] markets will pick up again," said Standard & Poor's economist David Wyss. "If Wall Street becomes confident the violence will stay confined, it can go up."

"Over this time, we have seen a number of profit warnings and lackluster earnings," said Paul Hickey, an analyst with Birinyi. "Furthermore, the market was already declining going into this event, so I think people are using the conflict as an excuse to sell."

Nonetheless, after $8.6 billion of outflows from equity funds in June, $1.9 billion has poured into equity funds so far this month. But even if flows remain in the black, many don't expect huge inflows this month.

Meanwhile, flows to money market funds were nearly $34 billion in both May and June. Through July 12, flows to money market funds this month have been $15.2 billion, while bond funds have taken in $170 million.

"You're going to see more and more money go into bonds, especially because of the yields," Wyss said. "The equity market hates uncertainty, and that's what you [have] got a lot of right now. Once investors become more confident, you'll see money rotate back into stocks."

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

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