Markets mixed but stocks “only game in town”

Markets were mixed on Monday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent but the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 percent. European markets were closed.

Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management, said that “while valuations are still way too high, stocks remain the only game in town if you’re looking at them versus bonds”.

However, in China, stocks fell over an escalating regulatory crackdown on stock manipulation, and despite a report on Monday showing that the economy grew 6.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, accelerating for the second consecutive quarter.