Until recently, many strategists had assumed central banks would prefer to live with rising inflation rather than put economic growth at risk. Events in the last few days are causing them to rethink that.

“More hawkish central banks last week reminded us that inflation is their prime concern, while activity/growth and markets are lesser considerations,” say Barclays strategists including Matthew Joyce.

It’s such concerns that are behind the latest selloff in equities, both in Europe and beyond. Joyce and his colleagues say plunging consumer confidence may indicate a direct impact on growth from the inflation situation, and recommend keeping an overweight on defensive stocks, as well as on value shares.

These worries have been lingering for some time. During an informal Bloomberg survey in December, investors named a hasty policy shift by central banks to tame rising prices as the biggest potential downside risk for global stocks. Back then, most investors saw US inflation of 4% to 6% as high enough to derail markets, and it’s now topped 8% for three consecutive months.