‘Confusion and disorientation’ driving ‘crazy’ moves in the market, Mark Mobius says

Market volatility and the next moves by central banks have to be watched “very carefully,” veteran investor Mark Mobius has warned, describing “crazy moves” in assets such as bitcoin as being driven by “disorientation and confusion.” Market speculation over when central banks, and particularly the U.S. Federal Reserve, could begin to taper asset purchases, has been rife for months given a nascent recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the specter of rising inflation. Mark Mobius, founder partner of Mobius Capital Partners, told CNBC that central bank moves have to be watched closely.

“Any pullback in the money supply as a result of central banks pulling back will be, I think, very bad for the markets. So I think we have to watch this very carefully,” Mobius told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe. “We’re in a very uncertain time, that’s for sure,” he added.

Even without concerns over central banks there have been instances of extreme market volatility since the start of the year, including the retail trading frenzy that hit U.S. stock markets in spring, driven largely by Reddit, to wild moves in the crypto market, particularly bitcoin. The price of the cryptocurrency fell about 10% Tuesday to around $32,000 and is down 50% from its April all-time high. Mobius noted how some emerging markets had performed well thanks to the increased global money supply and pointed out how some currencies, such as the Chinese renminbi and Brazilian real, had performed particularly well over the last year but that the outlook was also unpredictable among currencies too.

‘Confusion and disorientation’ driving ‘crazy’ moves in the market, Mark Mobius says, CNBC, Jun 10