U.S.
Stock Market
Week Ended May 27, 2011
Large-cap
stocks moved modestly lower, marking the fourth week of losses for the S&P
500, while smaller shares managed modest gains. Trading started on Monday on a
decidedly down note, as Wall Street mirrored sharp declines in overseas
markets. Speculation increased that Greece would have to default on its debt,
and an index of purchasing managers' activity in China fell to its lowest level
in 10 months. These worries also fostered a rise in the U.S. dollar, which led
in turn to a decline in commodity prices and a corresponding drop in energy and
materials shares. Commodity and share prices recovered a bit on Wednesday.
Ratings agency Fitch cooled fears about the scope of the European debt crisis
by stating that it expected German banks to be able to weather their exposure
to Greece. Investors appeared to largely look beyond mixed economic data in the
U.S. released later in the week Weekly jobless claims rose more than
anticipated, consumer spending rose less than expected, and pending home sales
for April declined sharply. A gauge of consumer sentiment was revised upward,
however, suggesting that some recent relief in gas prices might help boost
spending in coming months. The indexes climbed to end the week, although trading
volume was light due to the upcoming holiday weekend.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
12441.58 |
-70.46 |
7.46% |
|
S&P 500 |
1331.10 |
-2.17 |
5.84% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2796.86 |
-6.46 |
5.43% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
990.19 |
3.36 |
9.14% |
|
Russell 2000 |
836.13 |
6.89 |
6.48% |
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 27, 2011
The
Commerce Department reiterated its estimate that U.S. gross domestic product
grew at an annualized rate of only 1.8% in the first quarter, reflecting lower
consumer spending during the period. Analysts had been expecting an upward
revision from its initial reading on the economy. A good deal of the blame can
be attributed to rising energy and food costs, which have been boosting
inflation at its fastest pace in 12 months. Higher costs for gasoline and food
have put pressure on household budgets and forced consumers to rein in their
spending. Historically, consumer spending has accounted for about 70% of U.S.
economic activity. Corporate profits contracted during the first quarter for
the first time in more than two years, prompting some economists to state that
the overall U.S. economy hit a "soft patch" in the first quarter.
Treasury yields fell on the news after slipping a bit lower the
week before.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
May 27, 2011 |
May 20, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.48% |
0.51% |
|
10-Year |
3.07% |
3.15% |
|
30-Year |
4.24% |
4.30% |
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 27,
2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for
the week ending May 20, 2011 with the broad international measure, the MSCI
EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), losing -0.75%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
-0.75% |
4.62% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
-0.87% |
10.58% |
|
Denmark |
-0.79% |
7.77% |
|
France |
-0.27% |
12.60% |
|
Germany |
-2.16% |
10.55% |
|
Italy |
-2.54% |
11.77% |
|
Netherlands |
-2.45% |
7.25% |
|
Spain |
-1.47% |
11.73% |
|
Sweden |
0.45% |
11.23% |
|
Switzerland |
0.57% |
10.80% |
|
United Kingdom |
0.38% |
6.19% |
|
Japan |
-2.55% |
-7.73% |
|
AC Far East ex-Japan |
-0.43% |
3.93% |
|
Hong Kong |
-0.36% |
1.34% |
|
Korea |
-0.28% |
8.82% |
|
Malaysia |
-0.15% |
4.91% |
|
Singapore |
0.15% |
2.90% |
|
Taiwan |
-2.17% |
-0.36% |
|
Thailand |
-1.86% |
6.35% |
|
EM Latin America |
0.59% |
-4.88% |
|
Brazil |
0.58% |
-5.51% |
|
Mexico |
1.04% |
-3.31% |
|
Argentina |
0.68% |
-12.33% |
|
EM (Emerging Markets) |
-0.27% |
0.09% |
|
Hungary |
-3.95% |
17.68% |
|
India |
-1.34% |
-11.52% |
|
Israel |
1.93% |
-4.32% |
|
Russia |
-1.40% |
5.21% |
|
Turkey |
-1.32% |
-8.05% |
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 -0.73%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
-0.73% |
2.87% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-0.59% |
4.50% |
|
France |
-0.31% |
5.16% |
|
Germany |
-0.17% |
4.96% |
|
Italy |
-0.66% |
7.45% |
|
Spain |
-1.50% |
7.23% |
|
Sweden |
1.04% |
9.39% |
|
United Kingdom |
0.07% |
5.21% |
|
Japan |
-1.17% |
-0.35% |
|
Emerging Markets |
0.44% |
3.53% |
|
Argentina |
0.79% |
-0.99% |
|
Brazil |
0.97% |
4.71% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.13% |
2.86% |
|
Russia |
0.21% |
3.86% |
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 |
81.645 |
1.08% |
0.66% |
|
Euro |
1.41531 |
0.37% |
-5.49% |
|
British pound |
1.61951 |
0.08% |
-3.44% |
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.