Up is down, down is up, the bull is a bear, the bear is a bull and an economy in recovery is really in recession.

Such is the current state of the markets, according to Morgan Stanley strategists, who see a "Bizarro World" where nothing makes sense and it's getting tougher and tougher to make a buck.

"Everything seems backwards," Adam Parker, the firm's chief U.S. equity strategist, said in a note to clients. "Sell winners, buy losers, own staples in both up and down markets. Just do the opposite of what makes sense."

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The "Bizzaro" reference is familiar to Superman fans for a world where the Man of Steel is really a bad guy and everything else is upside down as well.

But for Morgan Stanley, it's been no comic book but rather stark reality. The firm's investment portfolio registered its worst month in more than five years — 61 months, to be exact — as the stock market got off to one of its worst starts ever this year.