Markets

'We should not overreact to market movements,' says Standard Chartered chairman

Key Points
  • Standard Chartered Chairman José Viñals urged investors to "de-dramatize the situation" amid a stock market rout in Asia.
  • The U.S. and global economies continue to grow "strongly" despite some valuations being "stretched," Viñals said.

English banking giant Standard Chartered's chairman suggests that investors should "de-dramatize" the recent market sell-off.

"We should not overreact to market movements even if those market movements are sizable," José Viñals told CNBC's Geoff Cuttmore on Thursday morning.

Viñals comments came amid a stock market rout in Asia following a major Wednesday sell-off on Wall Street.

Commenting on the recent market rout, Viñals said he "would de-dramatize the situation," urging investors to "remember what we have."

"One needs to start from realizing that some valuations were stretched to begin with," he said

"In a context where interest rates are going up and where growth prospects are significantly revised downwards," he added, "this is something that is going to take some steam off equity markets."

Nevertheless, Viñals said, the global and U.S. economies were "still growing strongly," along with expectations and forecasts that they were going to "keep at good rates" for this year and the next.

Limited impact of US-China trade war on business

Asked if the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing has had any impact on the bank's business, Viñals said: "Naturally, this trade conflict between the United States and China is having some sort of an impact in terms of confidence," which had been reflected in terms of investment and trade.

"This is something which is to be expected given the impact on confidence because this is something which is not good for anyone in the world, including the two countries which are engaged in the trade dispute in the first place," he said.

Investment, according to Viñals, is not growing as fast as it had been in many parts of the world, particularly in emerging markets.

However, the moderation in investment growth and trade caused by the negative sentiment "has not translated into an increase in loan impairments or anything like that," he added.

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