Global stock market sell-off not an isolated event

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A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, Dec. 4, 2018. 

The latest wave of heavy selling in financial markets is a clear sign of things to come, according to a new report from the world’s oldest international financial organization.

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS), an umbrella group for the world’s central banks, warned on Sunday that a normalization of monetary policy is likely to trigger a flurry of sharp sell-offs over the coming months.

“The market tensions we saw during this quarter were not an isolated event,” Claudio Borio, head of the monetary and economic department at the BIS, said in the report.

“Monetary policy normalization was bound to be challenging, especially in light of trade tensions and political uncertainty,” Borio added.