U.S.
Stock Market
Week Ended May 6, 2011
Stocks
moved lower for the week, although a burst of economic optimism on Friday
helped mitigate the major indexes' losses. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index was
particularly hard hit after establishing a new record the previous week.
Weaker-than-expected economic data weighed on investor sentiment for much of
the week. Although the Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday that
its index of manufacturing activity remained relatively strong in April,
Wednesday brought word that its gauge of service sector activity had declined
substantially. Investors were also initially discouraged by labor market data.
The payroll processing firm ADP announced on Wednesday that its tally of
private sector payrolls had grown by 179,000 in April, down from a 207,000 gain
in March. More worrisome was the Labor Department's weekly report on jobless
claims, which showed the ranks of the newly unemployed growing at the fastest
pace since last August. The rise was partly due to several unusual factors,
however, such as a bump in claims in the state of New York, where some
educational workers are eligible to claim benefits for the week of spring
break. Signs of economic weakness took a particularly large toll on commodity
prices and energy and materials stocks. Energy stocks fell throughout the first
part of the week, and oil prices saw some of their biggest declines on record
on Thursday. Surprisingly good jobs news on Friday morning helped stock prices
bounce higher, at least initially. The Labor Department reported that payrolls
had expanded by 244,000 in April, with gains spread across most sectors. While
government jobs contracted by 24,000, private payrolls grew the most since
February 2006.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
12638.74 |
-171.34 |
9.17% |
|
S&P 500 |
1340.20 |
-23.41 |
6.56% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2827.56 |
-45.98 |
6.58% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
988.90 |
-26.36 |
9.00% |
|
Russell 2000 |
834.02 |
-32.76 |
6.21% |
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 May 6, 2011
Investors
sold riskier assets in favor of Treasuries last week, causing yields to drop and
prices to rise across the maturity spectrum. News that U.S. special forces had
located and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden sparked a short-lived
sell-off in the Treasury market when markets opened on Monday. Investor demand
for Treasuries soon picked up, and the yield on the closely watched 10-year
note neared its lowest level of the year amid weakness in the stock and
commodities markets and some disappointing economic news. For example, a
midweek report on business activity indicated that the sector continued to
expand, but the pace of growth had slowed. Meanwhile, the price of oil and
other commodities plunged. While welcome news for consumers assailed by
$4-per-gallon gasoline, a large increase in oil stockpiles was seen by analysts
as a sign of weakening demand in the economy. On the employment front, new
claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased, hitting an eight-month
high. Treasuries were mixed in the week's final trading session after the Labor
Department reported that the nation's employers added 244,000 jobs in April, a
number that exceeded most estimates. Treasuries initially sold off on the news
but reversed course after an article suggesting that Greece may withdraw from
the euro zone appeared in a German magazine, influencing traders to move back
into lower-risk investments.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
May 6, 2011 |
April 29, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.55% |
0.60% |
|
10-Year |
3.16% |
3.28% |
|
30-Year |
4.29% |
4.39% |
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, May 6,
2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed higher for
the week ending April 29, 2011 with the broad international measure, the MSCI
EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), gaining 2.47%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
2.47% |
9.74% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
4.00% |
17.31% |
|
Denmark |
0.76% |
13.17% |
|
France |
4.37% |
19.41% |
|
Germany |
5.02% |
19.79% |
|
Italy |
4.92% |
23.40% |
|
Netherlands |
2.30% |
14.49% |
|
Spain |
4.96% |
22.92% |
|
Sweden |
3.97% |
15.75% |
|
Switzerland |
2.97% |
11.93% |
|
United Kingdom |
1.60% |
11.13% |
|
Japan |
1.87% |
-4.51% |
|
AC Far East ex-Japan |
-0.23% |
6.47% |
|
Hong Kong |
-0.89% |
2.07% |
|
Korea |
0.78% |
14.64% |
|
Malaysia |
2.24% |
6.26% |
|
Singapore |
0.59% |
5.00% |
|
Taiwan |
1.70% |
2.11% |
|
Thailand |
-1.05% |
11.24% |
|
EM Latin America |
-0.52% |
1.46% |
|
Brazil |
-1.62% |
1.98% |
|
Mexico |
1.11% |
2.38% |
|
Argentina |
-1.41% |
-13.38% |
|
EM (Emerging Markets) |
-0.09% |
5.29% |
|
Hungary |
2.71% |
34.44% |
|
India |
-2.00% |
-6.10% |
|
Israel |
-3.17% |
-5.31% |
|
Russia |
-0.76% |
16.82% |
|
Turkey |
0.35% |
4.75% |
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 1.34%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
1.34% |
4.87% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
2.37% |
8.62% |
|
France |
2.01% |
9.25% |
|
Germany |
2.03% |
8.72% |
|
Italy |
1.84% |
11.74% |
|
Spain |
2.25% |
12.69% |
|
Sweden |
1.43% |
12.71% |
|
United Kingdom |
1.24% |
7.72% |
|
Japan |
0.79% |
-0.30% |
|
Emerging Markets |
0.80% |
2.13% |
|
Argentina |
0.12% |
-0.64% |
|
Brazil |
1.04% |
2.39% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.34% |
2.13% |
|
Russia |
0.34% |
2.82% |
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 |
81.140 |
-0.74% |
0.04% |
|
Euro |
1.48361 |
-1.82% |
-10.59% |
|
British pound |
1.6681 |
-0.66% |
-6.53% |
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.