The global rally in government bonds broke records on Friday while equities buckled as a combination of anxiety over the world economy and Britain’s referendum on EU membership sent investors racing to safety.
Bears took charge of financial markets already grappling with the effects of negative interest rates in the eurozone and Japan as European equities suffered their worst day since the market meltdown at the start of the year.
“To see the 10-year Bund [yield] so close to zero is shocking,” said Philip Brown, head of sovereign capital markets at Citigroup. “Equities are falling and fixed income is rallying in a flight to quality — there are real fears in markets about global growth.”