Bank earnings a reality check for stock markets

Market push: A trader walks past a screen at the New York Stock Exchange. The liquidity gush that is keeping markets afloat stems from the stimulus package led by the US. — AFP

IT’S liquidity that is keeping the stock markets afloat. Not the real economy.

No amount of bad news – from rising unemployment to supply chain disruptions and rising tensions between the US and China – has had any impact on the stock market so far. Usually, in the month of May, fund managers sell off their positions and go for their summer break.