Week Ended September 17,
2010
Stocks moved higher for the
week, helping bring the broad S&P 500 and the technology-oriented Nasdaq
indexes back into positive territory for the year. Investors started the week
on a bullish note, apparently encouraged by news of an international agreement
on banking regulations over the weekend. Regulators meeting in Switzerland
announced plans to phase in higher capital ratio requirements for banks, but
investors were pleased that the rules would not take full effect for eight
years and thus posed little immediate threat to bank profits. Investors also
were encouraged by signs that economic growth had reaccelerated a bit in China.
Data on the U.S. economy were mixed, which appeared to cause the major indexes
to remain roughly flat for the rest of the week. On the negative side, more
evidence suggested that the manufacturing sector was slowing after having
helped lead the economy out of recession earlier in the year, and a measure of
consumer sentiment declined unexpectedly. More encouragingly, retail sales
expanded in August, weekly jobless claims declined to their lowest level in two
months, and rising producer prices helped dispel some fears about deflation.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
10607.85 |
145.08 |
1.72% |
|
S&P
500 |
1125.59 |
16.03 |
0.94% |
|
NASDAQ
Composite |
2315.61 |
73.13 |
2.05% |
|
S&P
MidCap 400 |
780.81 |
17.02 |
7.45% |
|
Russell
2000 |
652.46 |
15.66 |
2.90% |
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 17,
2010
The consumer price index
rose just 0.3% in August. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs,
was flat for the month and rose only 0.9% for the 12-month period through the
end of August. Overall inflation was up 1.1% during the same period. The
sluggish recovery, with ongoing low consumer demand and a weak employment
market, has prevented businesses from raising prices. The Federal Reserve has
kept short-term interest rates at historic lows in an effort to stimulate economic
growth and ward off deflation—generally falling prices—which
has not been a problem since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Short-term
Treasury yields fell sharply on the news, although the 30-year yield ended a
bit higher than its level of the week before.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
September 17, 2010 |
September 10, 2010 |
|
2-Year |
0.46% |
0.57% |
|
10-Year |
2.74% |
2.80% |
|
30-Year |
3.91% |
3.87% |
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 17, 2010.
___________
Week Ended September 10,
2010
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed higher for the week ending
September 10, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index
(Europe, Australasia, and Far East), gaining 0.97%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
0.97% |
-2.83% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
0.37% |
-7.08% |
|
Denmark |
1.09% |
14.65% |
|
France |
0.47% |
-11.39% |
|
Germany |
0.35% |
-7.22% |
|
Italy |
-0.24% |
-17.17% |
|
Netherlands |
0.22% |
-6.69% |
|
Spain |
-0.35% |
-18.18% |
|
Sweden |
2.31% |
14.69% |
|
Switzerland |
0.16% |
2.87% |
|
United
Kingdom |
1.09% |
-0.69% |
|
Japan |
1.32% |
1.85% |
|
AC
Far East ex-Japan |
1.54% |
5.41% |
|
Hong Kong |
3.13% |
8.46% |
|
Korea |
1.99% |
6.69% |
|
Malaysia |
0.69% |
25.82% |
|
Singapore |
1.16% |
9.99% |
|
Taiwan |
1.07% |
-1.93% |
|
Thailand |
1.31% |
34.62% |
|
EM
Latin America |
-0.04% |
2.13% |
|
Brazil |
-0.23% |
-3.01% |
|
Mexico |
-0.18% |
3.02% |
|
Argentina |
1.99% |
26.70% |
|
EM
(Emerging Markets) |
1.02% |
4.46% |
|
Hungary |
-0.54% |
-11.43% |
|
India |
3.13% |
7.69% |
|
Israel |
1.55% |
-5.63% |
|
Russia |
1.01% |
1.33% |
|
Turkey |
-0.73% |
16.76% |
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
-0.74%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed
Markets |
-0.74% |
3.49% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-1.37% |
-1.30% |
|
France |
-1.42% |
-3.82% |
|
Germany |
-1.31% |
-3.68% |
|
Italy |
-1.54% |
-8.03% |
|
Spain |
-1.74% |
-9.96% |
|
Sweden |
-0.44% |
4.94% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-1.13% |
2.69% |
|
Japan |
-0.14% |
12.78% |
|
Emerging
Markets |
-0.84% |
11.78% |
|
Argentina |
-3.71% |
12.68% |
|
Brazil |
-0.66% |
10.99% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.12% |
5.69% |
|
Russia |
-0.27% |
9.44% |
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 |
84.250 |
-0.11% |
-10.50% |
|
Euro |
1.27261 |
1.06% |
11.30% |
|
British
pound |
1.53841 |
0.36% |
4.74% |
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.