Will equities continue their rise no matter what?

Despite this week’s relative lull, the markets remain nervous as the year draws to a close, with inflation, especially in the United States, and once again COVID, particularly in Europe, as the main concerns. This can be seen from our risk perception index, which has risen by 12 points to 60%. While the bond market remains the primary indicator of fear with volatility at its highest level since March 2020, FX volatility also started to simmer this week with a rising US dollar. At this stage, equities are still very immune, but the year is not yet over. And the dynamics of inflation, COVID and monetary events in December are all likely to upset equity indices (somewhat) before Christmas .