European equities posted their worst quarterly performance in the first quarter of this year since 2002, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.
In March alone, the S&P Europe 350 fell 14%, bringing the total decrease for the quarter to 22%, with losses across the board – the worst monthly and quarterly drop in nearly 20 years.
Chris Bennett, director of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said: “The first quarter was marred by global pandemic fears as Covid-19 spread rapidly across Europe. European equities struggled in the face of a global sell-off.”
US equities posted their worst quarter since 2008, with the S&P 500 down 20%, while smaller-caps performed even worse.
In March, as the coronavirus impact further took its toll on markets, very few countries limited the losses to single digits, according to the data.
Market commentator Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen, said: “March was a month to forget for most investors, with some of the worst falls seen for more than a decade.”
“The speed of the coronavirus-induced sell-off caught investors by surprise, reversing hopes that the virus would be contained in China and sending stockmarkets around the world into freefall.”
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