Market conditions may have become more volatile in recent weeks but activity in the second quarter of the year was still strong as companies took advantage of buoyant equity markets and continued appetite among investors for high-yield debt. Optimism was also evident in the high levels of M&A activity.
However, whether this optimism will continue throughout the summer remains to be seen. Increased stock market volatility and the sell-off in some emerging markets towards the end of May suggests that investors are becoming more risk-averse, which may limit the appetite among companies for new issuance. Indeed, some initial public offerings have already been postponed.
