'This time may be different': Investors urged not to ignore warning signs from 'gut-churning' market sell-off

Concerns raised over Fed tightening and US market slump

Industry commentators have warned last week's equities sell-off could be the start of a more volatile period for markets in the face of a "toxic cocktail" of risks, including the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy faster than current expectations in the face of strong US economic data.

US stockmarkets suffered their biggest slump since February last Wednesday as investors reacted to US 10-year Treasury yields hitting seven-year highs of 3.258% on 9 October. This was on the back of the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike and chairman Jerome Powell saying the central bank was still a "long way from neutral" in terms of monetary policy, as well as the US unemployment rate falling to its lowest since 1969. In addition, concerns about the escalation of trade wars were rampant. The Dow Jones suffered its worst day in eight months, plunging over 800 points to 25,599, whi...