Last month we stated that – despite the catastrophic way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has threated and affected life and caused the global economy come to a veritable halt – we believed a sliver of light was becoming faintly visible at the end of the tunnel. While the situation in which Earth’s inhabitants find themselves remains absolutely dire and no less serious today than it was a month ago, we feel that our prediction has largely come true, albeit with a caveat: though the light is visible it remains distant and faint. The month of April displayed evidence of “green shoots” as most major indices posted positive returns. Indeed, the broad based MSCI EAFE index returned 6.29% after posting negative returns in each of the preceding 3 months.
Henry James International Management March 2020 Market Commentary
There is only one story in town: COVID-19. While these are unprecedented and extremely worrying times from a range of perspectives, including public health, health infrastructure, medical/pharmaceutical supplies, mass unemployment, economic contraction and falling equities prices and bond yields, we are optimistic that light is becoming visible at the end of this harrowing tunnel.