Yanni Angelakos, Head of Investment Insights, Nasdaq Capital Access Platforms
Key Points:
- Equity volatility hit its highest since the end of April 2025 on renewed U.S.-China trade tariff concerns
- Private credit markets in focus, pushing U.S. high yield spreads to their widest since mid-June 2025. Investment grade spreads remain near their five-year tights
- Strongest EM equity YTD performance since 2009 & largest outperformance vs. QQQ since 2016. But institutional investors remain under-indexed to dedicated EM equity exposure
Summary
With U.S. equity volatility receding to below the five-year average of around 20 on the VIX after Q2 peak trade tariff concerns, markets became relatively complacent. Then the renewed U.S.-China trade spat briefly pushed VIX above 25 on October 16th. More importantly, it served as a reminder that while the global economy avoided the worst-case scenarios of a trade war post the U.S.’s original…
