Welcome to Thoughts on the Market.

I'm Andrew Sheets, Chief Cross Asset Strategy for Morgan Stanley.

Along with my colleagues bring you a variety of perspectives,

I'll be discussing trends across the investment landscape and how we put those different ideas together.

It's Friday, March 13th, at 2 p.m. in London.

Through February 21st, the S&P 500 had gone 284 trading days, well over a calendar year, without moving more than 3% in either direction.

In the last 14 days, a move of 3% or more has happened 10 times.

That level of volatility is not normal and it

probably needs to moderate before the broader markets can mount a sustainable

comeback. Let's start with how unusual this is. Over the last 10 years the

annualized volatility of the S&P 500 is averaged about 15%

about 15%.

Over the last 21 days, it's been 50%.

If things have felt unusual and extreme,

it's because they are.

And the last time the market saw volatility that high It's because they are.

And the last time the market saw volatility that high,

over a 21 day stretch, was March 2009,

when markets were going through the final throws

of the Great Recession.

Now early 2009 with hindsight was a very good buying opportunity for the market on

a long-term view, but it also represented one of the most serious stresses to the financial

...