Week
Ended September 16, 2011
Stocks
managed their longest daily winning streak and biggest weekly gain since early
July as investors kept a close eye on Europe and grew hopeful that new
coordinated policy measures would help the continent emerge from its debt
crisis. Trading began the week on the same down note that the previous one had
ended, but a report that China was discussing government bond purchases with
Italy caused stocks to rally on Monday afternoon. The markets continued to move
higher over the next couple of days, as hopes grew that discussions among the
leaders of Germany, France, and Greece would result in the release of further
rescue funds for the Greek economy. On Thursday morning, word arrived that
several of the world's leading central banks had committed to provide unlimited
U.S. dollar funding to European banks, significantly easing concerns that
sovereign debt holdings might provoke another banking crisis. With the
worst-case scenarios for Europe now less likely, market gains in the U.S. might
have been stronger if not for a serious of somber economic reports. Retail
sales were flat in August—as reflected in a poor earnings report
from a prominent electronics retailer—weekly jobless claims increased, and
regional manufacturing reports indicated a continued slowdown in
the sector.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
11509.09 |
516.96 |
-0.59% |
|
S&P 500 |
1216.01 |
61.78 |
-3.31% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2622.31 |
154.32 |
-1.15% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
865.10 |
41.74 |
-4.65% |
|
Russell 2000 |
713.89 |
38.16 |
-9.09% |
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 September 16, 2011
A
spate of gloomy economic news greeted investors during the week. First, two
recent surveys of economic activity indicated that manufacturing conditions
remain weak throughout most areas of the country. On the labor front, initial
jobless claims rose during the week ended September 10 to an average of 415,000
for the year. While claims are not a reliable short-term indicator of monthly
employment change, this increase could suggest a rise in the unemployment rate
for September. Not only are businesses not adding enough jobs to lower the
unemployment rate, the latest trend appears to be heading in the opposite
direction. In international news, European finance ministers resisted U.S.
pressure to provide a decisive solution to the debt crisis, saying they would
delay until October a decision on whether or not to lend more money to Greece
to prevent a government default. Despite the weak economic news, consumer
inflation jumped 0.4% in August, further burdening consumers even as they
struggle to recover in the midst of a stagnating economy. Longer-term Treasury
yields rose over the week, as the 10-year yield climbed back above 2%.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
September 16, 2011 |
September 9, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.17% |
0.17% |
|
10-Year |
2.06% |
1.92% |
|
30-Year |
3.33% |
3.25% |
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, September
16, 2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for
the week ending September 09, 2011 with the broad international measure, the MSCI
EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), losing -5.45%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
-5.45% |
-12.87% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
-8.77% |
-17.26% |
|
Denmark |
-4.43% |
-20.81% |
|
France |
-8.41% |
-16.42% |
|
Germany |
-9.51% |
-22.96% |
|
Italy |
-9.86% |
-25.55% |
|
Netherlands |
-7.64% |
-18.22% |
|
Spain |
-10.03% |
-15.14% |
|
Sweden |
-6.00% |
-18.32% |
|
Switzerland |
-10.36% |
-8.91% |
|
United Kingdom |
-3.22% |
-7.47% |
|
Japan |
-3.21% |
-12.67% |
|
AC Far East ex-Japan |
-2.11% |
-8.32% |
|
Hong Kong |
-0.97% |
-8.10% |
|
Korea |
-3.99% |
-8.53% |
|
Malaysia |
-1.54% |
0.72% |
|
Singapore |
-2.46% |
-7.60% |
|
Taiwan |
-2.35% |
-12.38% |
|
Thailand |
-0.70% |
4.27% |
|
EM Latin America |
-3.93% |
-15.34% |
|
Brazil |
-3.74% |
-17.31% |
|
Mexico |
-5.29% |
-11.54% |
|
Argentina |
-6.23% |
-29.51% |
|
EM (Emerging Markets) |
-2.77% |
-11.82% |
|
Hungary |
-11.44% |
-20.16% |
|
India |
-1.13% |
-21.37% |
|
Israel |
-7.22% |
-26.54% |
|
Russia |
-3.08% |
-9.00% |
|
Turkey |
-0.87% |
-25.92% |
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 -1.55%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
-1.55% |
7.04% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-1.81% |
10.92% |
|
France |
-1.75% |
9.23% |
|
Germany |
-1.94% |
10.49% |
|
Italy |
-4.54% |
-0.06% |
|
Spain |
-3.53% |
6.85% |
|
Sweden |
0.65% |
15.22% |
|
United Kingdom |
-0.45% |
11.75% |
|
Japan |
-0.86% |
6.01% |
|
Emerging Markets |
-0.23% |
8.02% |
|
Argentina |
-1.76% |
-8.16% |
|
Brazil |
-0.41% |
10.73% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.12% |
3.41% |
|
Russia |
0.01% |
7.46% |
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 |
77.750 |
1.26% |
-4.32% |
|
Euro |
1.37131 |
3.49% |
-2.21% |
|
British pound |
1.58951 |
1.91% |
-1.52% |
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.