Market value sustainable

By Jane Wallace Current market valuations are justifiable and can be sustained, according to Baring Asset Management. Speaking at the Baring Global Investment Conference, Michael Hughes, member of Barings' Strategic Policy Group, said that the productivity gains created by the use of new technology supported the level of equity valuations, even if they looked extreme by past standards. He said: "The median US P/E ratio is now as low as it was during the Asian crisis in 1998. Europe is not far off its lowest level. All attention however is being focused on the outliners with extreme valuat...