2018 has been one of the most volatile years global stock markets have seen since the 2008 financial recession. This volatility, combined with rising interest rates, may prove to be an explosive combination and is just one reason many hedge fund managers are predicting a stock market crash in 2019. In some cases, there have been predictions of a 40% - 70% crash in the stock market: At the last Federal Reserve meeting of the year on 19 December, Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated his bullish stance on hiking interest rate in the future. With interest rate hikes preceding more than 10 economic recessions in the past 40 years, it is little wonder that stock market investors are predicting the worst for 2019. The technical chart also has some investors concerned.