U.S.
Stock Market
Week Ended April 8, 2011
The Dow
managed a slight gain after reaching its highest level in nearly three years on
Monday, but the other major indexes moved modestly lower for the week as
investors waited for the start of the first-quarter earnings season. Investors
were encouraged by news of another major merger, this time in the technology
sector, where Texas Instruments announced plans to acquire National
Semiconductor for $6.5 billion. Another technology giant, Cisco Systems, also
raised earnings hopes when its chief executive remarked at an investor
conference that the company was considering cost cuts and other measures to increase
profitability. The announcement of plans on the part of several major European
banks to raise capital boosted financial stocks on Wednesday. The week's
economic news was mixed. A disappointing read on service sector activity
weighed on sentiment on Tuesday, but a decline in weekly jobless claims
reported Thursday was largely in line with expectations, as was a rise in
wholesale inventories reported on Friday. Investors kept a wary eye on stalled
budget negotiations, which threatened to shutter parts of the federal
government late Friday. Most economists agree that a prolonged shutdown would
weaken the recovery.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
12380.05 |
3.33 |
6.93% |
|
S&P 500 |
1328.17 |
-4.24 |
5.61% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2780.41 |
-9.19 |
4.81% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
987.62 |
-8.81 |
8.86% |
|
Russell 2000 |
841.12 |
-5.12 |
7.11% |
This
chart is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent the performance
of any specific security. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.
1Source of data Reuters, obtained through Yahoo! Finance Closing
data as of 4:10 p.m. ET.
2The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor's 500
Stock Index of blue chip stocks, the Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index,
and the Russell 2000 Index are unmanaged indexes representing various segments
by market capitalization of the U.S. equity markets. The Nasdaq Composite is an
unmanaged index representing the companies traded on the Nasdaq stock market
and the National Market System.
____________
Week Ended
April 8, 2011
Longer-term
Treasury yields rose during the week against the backdrop of brighter news on
the labor front. More than 75% of major urban areas throughout the U.S.
reported that unemployment rates had declined thanks to widespread job gains.
The metropolitan area surrounding Los Angeles and Long Beach benefited most,
followed by New York City/Northern New Jersey and Miami/Fort Lauderdale. More
than 300 regions of 372 in the Labor Department survey saw declines in
unemployment rates, the healthiest showing in almost two years. Almost all of
the job gains came from the private sector. The weakest cities were state capitals,
where governments have been laying off workers in an effort to address their
mounting budget deficits. On a national level, federal workers had their
attention riveted on budget negotiations in Washington. More than 800,000
federal employees were threatened with layoffs if both major political parties
failed to resolve their differences before midnight on Friday.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
April 8, 2011 |
April 1, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.81% |
0.80% |
|
10-Year |
3.58% |
3.44% |
|
30-Year |
4.64% |
4.49% |
This table is
for illustrative purposes only. Past performance cannot guarantee future
results.
1Source of data:
Bloomberg.com, as of 4 p.m. ET Friday, April 8, 2011.
___________
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed higher for the week
ending April 01, 2011 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index
(Europe, Australasia, and Far East), gaining 0.97%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
0.97% |
3.86% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
1.58% |
8.99% |
|
Denmark |
2.38% |
9.71% |
|
France |
2.07% |
11.99% |
|
Germany |
3.38% |
9.32% |
|
Italy |
0.37% |
14.67% |
|
Netherlands |
1.55% |
11.49% |
|
Spain |
0.07% |
15.46% |
|
Sweden |
2.48% |
6.26% |
|
Switzerland |
-0.10% |
1.70% |
|
United Kingdom |
1.55% |
5.56% |
|
Japan |
-2.33% |
-7.10% |
|
AC Far East ex-Japan |
3.33% |
3.05% |
|
Hong Kong |
2.57% |
0.04% |
|
Korea |
5.51% |
8.85% |
|
Malaysia |
2.75% |
5.07% |
|
Singapore |
1.95% |
-0.22% |
|
Taiwan |
1.75% |
-3.49% |
|
Thailand |
2.77% |
6.14% |
|
EM Latin America |
4.05% |
2.27% |
|
Brazil |
4.75% |
4.00% |
|
Mexico |
3.28% |
1.90% |
|
Argentina |
3.86% |
-9.51% |
|
EM (Emerging Markets) |
3.66% |
3.36% |
|
Hungary |
3.02% |
23.33% |
|
India |
3.34% |
-5.07% |
|
Israel |
2.15% |
-2.49% |
|
Russia |
2.21% |
18.62% |
|
Turkey |
3.17% |
-2.27% |
International
Bond Markets
International bond markets in developed countries
were lower this week, with the J.P. Morgan Global Government Bond Less U.S.
Index losing -2.11%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
-2.11% |
-0.13% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-0.62% |
2.45% |
|
France |
-0.54% |
3.16% |
|
Germany |
-0.58% |
2.76% |
|
Italy |
-0.33% |
6.09% |
|
Spain |
-0.78% |
7.63% |
|
Sweden |
0.33% |
6.23% |
|
United Kingdom |
-0.83% |
1.44% |
|
Japan |
-4.04% |
-4.49% |
|
Emerging Markets |
0.28% |
1.08% |
|
Argentina |
2.63% |
1.16% |
|
Brazil |
0.14% |
1.02% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.12% |
1.15% |
|
Russia |
0.24% |
2.53% |
International
Currency Markets
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was stronger
against the major currencies for the week.
|
|
|||
|
Currency |
Close |
Week's Return |
% Change |
|
Japanese yen |
84.345 |
3.81% |
3.84% |
|
Euro |
1.41461 |
-0.01% |
-5.45% |
|
British pound |
1.60311 |
0.34% |
-2.39% |
1U.S. dollars per
national currency unit.
Sources: Foreign stock markets and currency sections
are from Rimes Technologies, using MSCI data. International bond markets are
from J.P. Morgan.
Note: All returns are in U.S. dollars. All bond
indices are J.P. Morgan. All stock indices are Morgan Stanley Capital
International (MSCI).
|
Equity Indices |
|
|
EAFE: |
MSCI Europe, Australasia, and Far East Index |
|
Europe Ex-U.K.: |
MSCI Europe ex-U.K. Index |
|
Far East Ex-Japan: |
MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan Index |
|
Latin America: |
MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index |
|
Emerging Markets: |
MSCI Emerging Markets Index |
|
Bond Indices |
|
|
Developed Markets: |
J.P. Morgan Global Government Bond Less U.S. Index |
|
Emerging Markets: |
J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus |
All charts are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the
performance of any specific security. Past performance cannot guarantee
future results.