The junk bond market, one of the biggest beneficiaries of easy money, has screeched to a halt.
No US high yield bonds were offered between November 30 and January 10, according to Dealogic. December marked the first month since the 2008 crisis without any junk bonds being issued, the research firm said.
The reversal of fortunes underscores how quickly sentiment can change in financial markets, especially in the riskiest pockets of Wall Street.
Deep fears about the end of the economic cycle similarly led to an exodus out of momentum stocks and the oil patch. Both the Nasdaq and crude oil tumbled into bear markets.
"The stock market and oil really drive the junk bond market. They were a double-barreled depressant in December," said Mark Howard, senior multi asset specialist at BNP Paribas.
The energy sector accounts for about 15% of the US high-yield market, making the junk bond market particularly sensitive to sharp swings in oil prices. The 2014-2016 oil crash sparked dozens of oil bankruptcies.
The silence of the junk bond market marks a sharp slowdown from last December, when 36 companies tapped the junk bond market to raise nearly $18 billion, according to Dealogic.
edition.cnn.com/2019/01/11/investing/junk-bonds-markets-debt/index.html