U.S.
Stock Market
Week Ended April 29, 2011
Stocks moved higher for week, helping the small-cap Russell 2000 Index reach
an all-time high, the large-cap indexes attain their best levels in nearly
three years, and the technology-oriented Nasdaq achieve its highest close since
December 2000. Investors continued to be generally pleased with earnings
reports, which indicated that cost savings and strong export markets were
allowing companies to record strong profits despite the modest pace of the U.S.
economic recovery. Investors were also encouraged by better-than-expected
showings on gauges of consumer confidence, which indicated that Americans were
adjusting to higher gas prices and other recent challenges. On Wednesday, the
Federal Reserve reaffirmed its intention to leave interest rates unchanged
"for an extended period" while going ahead with its plan to cease
purchases of long-term Treasuries this summer. Investors appeared to welcome
the continuity in monetary policy and bid stocks sharply higher following the
release of the Fed's statement. Investors took in stride sobering economic news
that arrived Thursday. The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims
had climbed sharply, while the Commerce Department announced its advance
estimate that the economy had grown at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first
quarter—well below the 3.1% pace of growth in the final quarter of 2010.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
12810.08 |
346.55 |
10.65% |
|
S&P 500 |
1363.61 |
28.42 |
8.43% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2873.54 |
58.00 |
8.32% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
1015.26 |
23.72 |
11.91% |
|
Russell 2000 |
866.78 |
23.40 |
10.38% |
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 29, 2011
Treasury yields closed below their levels of a week earlier across the
maturity spectrum. The decline occurred against the backdrop of U.S. dollar
weakness and soaring gold prices. The dollar posted its longest losing streak
versus the euro in almost two years, and gold climbed to more than $1,500 an
ounce. The Federal Reserve's trade-weighted dollar index, which measures the
dollar against seven major currencies, stood at a record low after the Fed's
recent announcement that it will leave its accommodative monetary policy in
place. In his first-ever press conference on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke indicated that the central bank would continue to hold short-term
interest rates low as long as necessary to provide support for the economy.
Conversely, the European Central Bank (ECB) recently raised rates in an effort
to head off possible inflation in the months ahead. The greenback has been on
an extended downturn for six weeks, a trend that is unlikely to be reversed
until the Fed follows the lead of the ECB. However, unemployment remains
elevated and the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at an
annualized rate of only 1.8% in the first quarter—less than many expected—so a
policy change is unlikely to occur before late this year or early 2012.
|
U.S. Treasury
Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
April 29, 2011 |
April 21, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.60% |
0.66% |
|
10-Year |
3.28% |
3.40% |
|
30-Year |
4.39% |
4.47% |
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 29, 2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed higher
for the week ending April 21, 2011 with the broad international measure, the
MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), gaining 2.01%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
2.01% |
7.08% |
|
Europe
ex-U.K. |
2.24% |
12.80% |
|
Denmark |
1.78% |
12.32% |
|
France |
2.13% |
14.41% |
|
Germany |
2.89% |
14.06% |
|
Italy |
1.00% |
17.62% |
|
Netherlands |
0.01% |
11.91% |
|
Spain |
0.27% |
17.11% |
|
Sweden |
3.73% |
11.33% |
|
Switzerland |
3.73% |
8.70% |
|
United Kingdom |
2.25% |
9.38% |
|
Japan |
1.20% |
-6.32% |
|
AC Far East
ex-Japan |
2.16% |
6.78% |
|
Hong Kong |
0.36% |
2.99% |
|
Korea |
3.55% |
14.01% |
|
Malaysia |
0.75% |
4.18% |
|
Singapore |
2.31% |
4.38% |
|
Taiwan |
2.21% |
0.24% |
|
Thailand |
3.71% |
13.15% |
|
EM Latin America |
2.21% |
1.99% |
|
Brazil |
2.52% |
3.67% |
|
Mexico |
0.72% |
1.25% |
|
Argentina |
-0.98% |
-12.13% |
|
EM (Emerging
Markets) |
2.08% |
5.38% |
|
Hungary |
3.44% |
31.55% |
|
India |
-0.56% |
-4.18% |
|
Israel |
-0.18% |
-2.20% |
|
Russia |
1.70% |
16.97% |
|
Turkey |
1.20% |
4.37% |
International Bond Markets
International bond markets in
developed countries were higher this week, with the J.P. Morgan Global
Government Bond Less U.S. Index gaining 1.81%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
1.81% |
3.43% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
1.56% |
6.10% |
|
France |
1.67% |
7.09% |
|
Germany |
1.68% |
6.55% |
|
Italy |
1.01% |
9.72% |
|
Spain |
0.84% |
10.22% |
|
Sweden |
2.28% |
11.12% |
|
United Kingdom |
2.08% |
6.41% |
|
Japan |
2.16% |
-1.19% |
|
Emerging Markets |
0.15% |
1.32% |
|
Argentina |
-1.00% |
-0.76% |
|
Brazil |
0.04% |
1.33% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.13% |
1.78% |
|
Russia |
-0.01% |
2.48% |
International Currency Markets
On the currency front, the U.S.
dollar was weaker against the major currencies for the week.
|
|
|||
|
Currency |
Close |
Week's Return |
% Change |
|
Japanese yen |
81.740 |
-1.72% |
0.78% |
|
Euro |
1.45711 |
-0.77% |
-8.61% |
|
British pound |
1.6571 |
-1.28% |
-5.83% |
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.