US and European equities staged a determined rebound on Wednesday and Asian stocks followed on Thursday after fresh evidence of credit and subprime market problems rattled some nerves but failed to make a significant impact, and Fed governor Ben Bernanke said the Fed was “closely monitoring developments” in financial markets and was “prepared to act” if required. Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, the Vix index, fell by over 9 per cent but the iTraxx Crossover index, which tracks junk-rated debt, widened in response to fears of further bad news. Some strategists warned recent gains did not indicate normalisation but merely bargain-hunting ahead of further volatility.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 5:49 and is filed under Capital markets. Edit this entry.