Downside protection amid 'gloomy economists' and irrational markets

While coming within a whisker of calling the low for the S&P 500, it is fruitless attempting to call short-term market moves.

Frankly, they could go anywhere in such an emotional climate, as witnessed in the oil market. Some expensive markets (practically all sovereign debt, notably that with any duration) have become even more expensive, while others, such as investment grade, which had flipped to looking cheap again, are not so clearly cheap now after a 30% rally. Stockmarkets did appear to be settling into a more rational frame of mind over the past few weeks with a rather clearer focus on the long-term winners and losers from the current crisis. Pandemics, panics and perspectives: Investor psychology ...