Ukraine crisis: stock experts assess buying the dip or seeking protection as market risks mount

Morgan Stanley, Amundi, RBC Wealth Management offer views on what to expect in coming days as the Russia-Ukraine conflict unfolds

Hang Seng Index lost 6.5 per cent this week in the worst rout since March 2020

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An explosion in Kyiv, February 24, 2022. Photo: Captured from Twitter/The New Zealand Herald

Published: 6:33pm, 25 Feb 2022Updated: 1:22pm, 9 Mar 2022

Russia deployed its military in Ukraine this week, inflicting stock losses and spiking market volatility. The tensions added to a menu of worries for investors already trying to cope with policy tightening in the US and a slowdown in China.

The Hang Seng Index sank 6.5 per cent this week, a sell-off not seen since the depths of the pandemic in March 2020. Stocks in mainland China are in bear territory, having lost at least a fifth since the February 2021 peak.

Here’s what money managers and analysts are saying about the Ukraine conflict and the state of the equity markets.

Morgan Stanley: amplified risk premium for Chinese stocks

The conflict could inflate the risk premium for Chinese markets and push them closer to bear-case targets.

“China has considerable policy levers to pull in an adverse global growth scenario,” equity strategists led by Jonathan Garner wrote in a report on Thursday. “However, global investors may raise the risk premium on Chinese investments as a result of Russia’s actions.”

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