Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), at a rates decision news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images There is an "elevated" risk of a market correction, European Central Bank vice president Luis De Guindos told CNBC on Wednesday, as stock indices notch fresh record highs despite a combination of geopolitica...
Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), at a rates decision news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images There is an "elevated" risk of a market correction, European Central Bank vice president Luis De Guindos told CNBC on Wednesday, as stock indices notch fresh record highs despite a combination of geopolitical turmoil, fiscal challenges and outsized valuations. "There is a risk of a correction because valuations in markets are quite high, quite elevated and ... the main element of concern, from our standpoint, is geopolitical risk," the senior ECB official told CNBC's Annette Weisbach. "On top of that, we have the fiscal situation in Europe, we have the situation of non-banks, mainly private credit and private equity institutions, and the interconnection of these non-banks with the banking system. So it's a combination of elements," he noted. The duration of the war in Iran could prove pivotal to the degree of risk markets face, De Guindos said, amid continued market confidence in a quick resolution. "Markets discount that the conflict will be over shortly and if that's not the situation, that could trigger a modification in the perception of markets. That, in combination with other elements ... might trigger a correction in markets," he said. watch now VIDEO 13:02 13:02 Geopolitics is main financial stability risk, ECB's De Guindos tells CNBC Squawk Box Europe 'Geoeconomic stress' The ECB's latest Financial Stability Review, also published on Wednesday, assessed that the outlook for euro area financial stability was "being shaped by geoeconomic stress and energy supply disruptions." "Prolonged geopolitical stress and lingering fiscal challenges could test financial market sentiment," the review noted, warning that this could deteriorate "as downside risks related to geopolitical, fiscal and macro-financial developments appear underestimated." "Fiscal expansion in a challenging...