At what point will traders start buying equities again?

Volatility has returned with a vengeance and investors who had been hoping that the new week would see some respite from the selling have been left disappointed.

European equity markets have now erased all their year-to-date gains as the market has reversed its euphoric start to the year and left investors with nowhere to hide.

Sentiment has very quickly moved from the fear of missing out to the fear of staying invested, but one positive factor is that this abrupt reversal in sentiment could easily swing back and see attitudes go from negative to positive equally quickly.

Investors have money to invest and desperately want this mini-correction to be short-lived. Any sign that the selling has been overdone is likely to see a wave of money re-enter the market, but until we get that trigger investors are choosing to stay away.

Sworn in today as the new Governor of the Federal Reserve, the expectation is that Jerome Powell will adopt the same dovish approach as Janet Yellen.

However, with 10-year US bond yields at their highest level in four years, and the market fearful that higher wages and inflation will force the Fed to increase rates more than the market wants, the pressure is already on Mr Powell.

Michael O'Leary has thrown down the gauntlet to the new pilot unions at Ryanair and suggested that negotiations will be difficult and there is likely to be further disruption.

The autumn saw huge problems for the airline, so the idea that there could be more issues to come is deeply unwelcome. Although Ryanair's results and share buy-back are positive, potential union problems, combined with Ryanair's caution over full year guidance and lower expectations of summer fares have seen their share price fall sharply.