Mobius says low market volatility is tied to social media

(May 11): Mark Mobius has a left-field theory on why volatility in global stock markets is so low.

“Social media is having a huge impact,” the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group said in an interview during a visit to Tokyo. “It’s creating confusion with a lot of false news,” he said. “You’re getting a situation where a lot of information is discounted immediately because people are afraid that maybe the information they’re getting is not true.”

The VIX Index, the so-called fear gauge for U.S. stocks, fell earlier this week to its lowest close since 1993, as record-low turbulence plays out in markets across the world. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s defeat in French elections was the latest development imbuing calm among investors.

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