Week Ended October 22, 2010
The major indexes rose for
the week despite the worst drop for large-caps in two months on Tuesday; the
small-cap Russell 2000 declined slightly. Investors welcomed generally
favorable profit results as more companies reported third-quarter earnings.
Technology companies reported particularly strong earnings and revenue growth,
although stock declines for some large tech bellwethers, including IBM and
Apple, indicated that investors had already bid up shares in anticipation of
strong performance. The week's economic data were mixed, particularly within
the housing sector. Housing starts surprised investors by rising to a
five-month high in September, but permits for future construction declined.
Currency concerns also appeared to drive returns during the week. One factor in
Tuesday's sell-off was news that China had raised interest rates to slow down
activity in its booming real estate sector. The move weighed particularly on
energy and materials stocks due to China's importance as an export market and
because China's move touched off a temporary rise in the U.S. dollar, in which
many commodities are traded. Both sectors rebounded as the dollar fell back
later in the week.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
11132.56 |
69.78 |
6.76% |
|
S&P
500 |
1183.08 |
6.89 |
6.10% |
|
NASDAQ
Composite |
2479.39 |
10.62 |
9.27% |
|
S&P
MidCap 400 |
824.91 |
5.15 |
13.52% |
|
Russell
2000 |
703.57 |
-0.86 |
10.96% |
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 October 22, 2010
U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner said he would use upcoming meetings of the G-20 finance
ministers to promote efforts to "rebalance" the global economy. Until
now, global economic growth has depended to a great extent on American
consumers, resulting in severe deficits in the U.S. balance of trade with other
nations. Imports to the U.S. have far outpaced exports over the years, and
consumer demand has accounted for about 70% of the domestic economy. Lately,
however, Americans have been saving more and consuming less, which has served
to restrain worldwide economic growth. Secretary Geithner denied that the
administration has been deliberately devaluing the dollar to make imports more
expensive for U.S. consumers and the country's exports more affordable for
foreigners. The greenback has fallen to an all-time low against the Japanese
yen, however, and to multiyear lows against other currencies. Currency exchange
rate policies will be a major topic of discussion at the G-20 meetings in South
Korea over the weekend. Yields on U.S. Treasuries fell during the week, closing
slightly below their levels of a week earlier.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
October 22, 2010 |
October 15, 2010 |
|
2-Year |
0.35% |
0.36% |
|
10-Year |
2.56% |
2.57% |
|
30-Year |
3.94% |
3.98% |
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, October 22, 2010.
___________
Week Ended October 15, 2010
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed higher for the week ending October
15, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe,
Australasia, and Far East), gaining 1.31%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
1.31% |
6.06% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
2.29% |
3.98% |
|
Denmark |
1.57% |
26.41% |
|
France |
2.35% |
0.54% |
|
Germany |
3.81% |
6.75% |
|
Italy |
1.99% |
-7.28% |
|
Netherlands |
2.35% |
4.76% |
|
Spain |
2.51% |
-8.35% |
|
Sweden |
1.91% |
28.28% |
|
Switzerland |
1.56% |
9.60% |
|
United
Kingdom |
1.34% |
7.20% |
|
Japan |
-0.63% |
6.15% |
|
AC
Far East ex-Japan |
2.16% |
16.51% |
|
Hong Kong |
1.65% |
22.83% |
|
Korea |
0.86% |
17.38% |
|
Malaysia |
1.67% |
32.82% |
|
Singapore |
2.89% |
20.38% |
|
Taiwan |
0.34% |
5.76% |
|
Thailand |
3.79% |
54.23% |
|
EM
Latin America |
2.11% |
13.49% |
|
Brazil |
2.23% |
8.24% |
|
Mexico |
1.51% |
15.03% |
|
Argentina |
2.39% |
46.17% |
|
EM
(Emerging Markets) |
1.89% |
15.84% |
|
Hungary |
1.63% |
4.74% |
|
India |
0.22% |
22.06% |
|
Israel |
2.81% |
2.48% |
|
Russia |
-0.07% |
6.82% |
|
Turkey |
4.95% |
44.16% |
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
0.27%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed
Markets |
0.27% |
10.96% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-0.18% |
8.70% |
|
France |
0.07% |
5.96% |
|
Germany |
-0.05% |
6.25% |
|
Italy |
0.77% |
2.37% |
|
Spain |
0.73% |
0.48% |
|
Sweden |
0.13% |
14.56% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-0.48% |
8.22% |
|
Japan |
0.41% |
18.20% |
|
Emerging
Markets |
0.17% |
16.24% |
|
Argentina |
3.16% |
31.08% |
|
Brazil |
0.19% |
16.04% |
|
Bulgaria |
0.32% |
7.96% |
|
Russia |
0.55% |
12.61% |
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 |
81.350 |
-0.61% |
-14.44% |
|
Euro |
1.40121 |
-0.57% |
2.34% |
|
British
pound |
1.60131 |
-0.51% |
0.84% |
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.