War fears dampen outlook for equities

Global equities enjoyed a strong start in 2003 but investors' enthusiasm was soon dampened by the in...

Global equities enjoyed a strong start in 2003 but investors' enthusiasm was soon dampened by the increased likelihood of US-led war against Iraq. Against this uncertain backdrop, economic and corporate news was sometimes better than expected. But it was largely ignored by investors who sought out such safe havens as government bonds and gold. The UK equity market was particularly badly affected, falling to its lowest level since 1995 as insurers were forced to shift out of equities into bonds to protect their solvency requirements. This has led to equities being unequivocally cheap ...