Week
Ended August 19, 2011
Stocks
endured another week of substantial declines as initial optimism about earnings
and hopes for progress in resolving the European debt crisis gave way to
growing worries that the U.S. economy might slip back into recession. The major
indexes rose sharply on Monday and built on their gains late in the previous
week as speculation increased that European leaders would announce stronger
steps to resolve the continent's banking and sovereign debt problems. Investors
were also encouraged by the announcement of major takeovers in the banking,
media, and technology sectors, which indicated that corporations remained
optimistic about future profits and viewed the recent market tumble as a buying
opportunity. Enthusiasm about Europe evaporated on Tuesday, however, when the
leaders of France and Germany indicated their opposition to the creation of
euro zone bonds, a form of collective action that many had hoped might rescue
weaker economies in the region. A larger blow to the markets came Thursday,
when stocks plunged following data showing that manufacturing activity in the
Mid-Atlantic region had fallen to its lowest level since the depth of the
recession in early 2009. Investors were also unnerved by a report in the Wall
Street Journal that U.S. regulators were concerned about the health of the U.S.
branches of European banks. A decline in existing home sales in July also
weighed on sentiment. Continuing economic worries and a poorly received outlook
and corporate reorganization announcement by a major technology firm sent the
markets further lower to end the week.
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
DJIA |
10817.65 |
-451.37 |
-6.56% |
S&P 500 |
1123.53 |
-55.28 |
-10.66% |
NASDAQ Composite |
2341.84 |
-166.14 |
-11.72% |
S&P MidCap 400 |
787.86 |
-55.22 |
-13.16% |
Russell 2000 |
651.61 |
-45.29 |
-17.02% |
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 August 192, 2011
Longer-dated
U.S. Treasury prices rose as investors sought refuge amid fears that global
growth is weakening, Europe's debt crisis is worsening, and the U.S. could fall
into another recession. Yields on 5-, 7-, and 10-year notes all fell to
historic lows during the week as investors scooped up Treasuries as a safe
haven, despite uncertainty about how the U.S. plans to resolve its deficit and
spur growth. Economic and political uncertainty has buoyed the Treasury market
in recent weeks as investors sought safety amid severe market volatility
following Standard & Poor's decision on August 5 to downgrade the nation's
long-term credit rating. In the U.S., investors are worried that the modest
economic recovery is stalling; in Europe, investors fretted that the sovereign
debt crisis would claim Italy and Spain, both of which are grappling with high
debt and weak growth. In economic news, the Labor Department on Thursday
reported that consumer prices rose in July, although core inflation—which
strips out food and energy prices—was modest. Separately, the Labor
Department reported that initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 408,000 in the
week ended August 13, the highest in a month. One particularly downbeat report
came from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which said that
manufacturing in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly contracted in August by
the most in more than two years. The Philadelphia fed report, which some fear
may be a harbinger of a recession in the U.S., caused Treasury yields to touch
new lows on Thursday.
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
Maturity |
August 19, 2011 |
August 12, 2011 |
2-Year |
0.19% |
0.18% |
10-Year |
2.07% |
2.24% |
30-Year |
3.39% |
3.71% |
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, August
19, 2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for
the week ending August 12, 2011 with the broad international measure, the MSCI
EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), losing -0.92%.
|
||
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
EAFE |
-0.92% |
-7.35% |
Europe ex-U.K. |
-0.93% |
-7.09% |
Denmark |
-0.50% |
-13.03% |
France |
-1.47% |
-7.08% |
Germany |
-3.22% |
-7.99% |
Italy |
-0.65% |
-13.26% |
Netherlands |
-1.83% |
-9.66% |
Spain |
-0.13% |
-3.53% |
Sweden |
0.79% |
-12.02% |
Switzerland |
0.07% |
0.76% |
United Kingdom |
0.85% |
-3.65% |
Japan |
-2.38% |
-9.80% |
AC Far East ex-Japan |
-5.42% |
-9.03% |
Hong Kong |
-4.11% |
-9.83% |
Korea |
-9.53% |
-10.25% |
Malaysia |
-2.61% |
1.72% |
Singapore |
-4.29% |
-5.52% |
Taiwan |
-2.23% |
-12.46% |
Thailand |
-3.33% |
4.50% |
EM Latin America |
-1.34% |
-15.73% |
Brazil |
-1.62% |
-17.71% |
Mexico |
-3.12% |
-11.52% |
Argentina |
-3.63% |
-21.52% |
EM (Emerging Markets) |
-4.82% |
-12.27% |
Hungary |
-8.77% |
-9.40% |
India |
-4.20% |
-19.44% |
Israel |
-7.59% |
-24.38% |
Russia |
-10.24% |
-8.81% |
Turkey |
-9.66% |
-30.90% |
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 1.71%.
|
||
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
Developed Markets |
1.71% |
8.25% |
Europe |
|
|
Denmark |
0.26% |
10.82% |
France |
0.86% |
10.17% |
Germany |
0.30% |
10.72% |
Italy |
5.09% |
6.01% |
Spain |
5.19% |
11.38% |
Sweden |
1.07% |
12.04% |
United Kingdom |
-0.32% |
11.27% |
Japan |
1.84% |
6.76% |
Emerging Markets |
-1.31% |
6.00% |
Argentina |
-0.20% |
-4.18% |
Brazil |
-0.92% |
8.25% |
Bulgaria |
0.25% |
2.75% |
Russia |
-0.70% |
5.84% |
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 |
76.770 |
-2.24% |
-5.65% |
Euro |
1.42161 |
-0.16% |
-5.96% |
British pound |
1.62751 |
0.67% |
-3.95% |
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.