Stagflation fears are dominant across Wall Street and global markets, according to Bank of America.
The bank’s latest fund manager survey found that 83% of investors expect a combination of torpid growth and soaring inflation to hit markets within the next 12 months.
Stagflation can be harmful to stock markets because of its relation to high unemployment, lower consumer spending, rising costs, and reduced company profits.
Bank of America surveyed 266 CIOs, asset allocators, and portfolio managers for its monthly survey – and over 220 used the term ‘stagflation’ to describe their economic expectations over the next 12 months.
“Wall Street sentiment is dire,” BofA Securities investment strategists Michael Hartnett and Myung-Jee Jung said. “Inflation will remain high relative to history… so by far and away the most popular description of what the economic backdrop will be in the next 12 months is ‘stagflation’.”
Investors haven’t felt this terrified about stagflation since June 2008, according to Bank of America. At that time, the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns and rising oil prices were frightening markets ahead of the dawn of the Great Recession.
