A recent Reuters poll reveals that the risk appetite in global financial markets remained thin for the sixth consecutive month in September, mainly driven by the escalation of the US-China trade war. For the sixth straight month, investors preferred to park their wealth in bonds instead of in stock markets.

Despite recent positive development, trade tensions between the US and China remain elevated over the US’s plans to consider delisting Chinese companies from American stock exchanges. China has responded with a warning that such a “decoupling” move could destabilize international markets.

The poll which was conducted between September 18 and September 27 indicates that overall exposure to equity markets in the balanced model portfolio has declined to 44.3% in September from 44.6% in August. This is the lowest level seen since November 2016 and is 4% lower than it was at the beginning of 2019.

Meanwhile, recommended bond holdings have climbed around 3% higher since January 2019 to average about 42.1%, the highest level since early 2013. Respondents to the poll expressed concern that stocks appeared very expensive and more prone to a sell-off due to the high uncertainty in global financial markets.