Week
Ended November 25, 2011
Treasury
yields fell from the prior week on Friday, the last day of a shortened trading
week due to Thanksgiving, as the ongoing European debt crisis spurred demand
for the relative safety of U.S. government debt. During the week, the yield on
the benchmark 10-year bond fell to a six-week low of 1.88% but recovered by
Friday, according to Bloomberg. In economic news, gross domestic product rose
at a 2% annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department
reported Tuesday. The pace was weaker than economists' forecasts and below a
prior estimate of 2.5%. While the 2% growth rate was better than the 1.3% clip
in the second quarter and the 0.4% pace in this year's first quarter, it is
still below growth rates from late 2009 and the first half of 2010 and
reinforced the frustratingly slow pace of the economic recovery. Two other
economic reports showed that Americans cut their spending in October and
manufacturers received fewer orders for durable goods. In the first report,
consumer spending—which accounts for about 70% of total
U.S. economic activity—edged up 0.1% in October after a 0.7%
increase in the previous month. For the third quarter, consumer spending rose
at a 2.3% annual gain, following a 0.7% increase in the previous three months,
indicating that Americans were spending more by saving less. Both reports
tempered expectations of a strong pickup in growth during the year's
final quarter.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
11231.94 |
-564.22 |
-2.98% |
|
S&P 500 |
1158.67 |
-56.98 |
-7.87% |
|
NASDAQ Composite |
2441.58 |
-130.92 |
-7.96% |
|
S&P MidCap 400 |
812.46 |
-49.07 |
-10.45% |
|
Russell 2000 |
666.46 |
-52.70 |
-15.13% |
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 1:10 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.
___________
U.S. Bond Market
Week Ended November 25, 2011
Retail
sales rose 0.5% in October, reflecting solid growth in purchases of
nonautomotive goods despite modest gains in income. Weak automobile sales
restrained an even stronger overall gain. At the same time, consumer prices moderated,
although the increases were held in check by a 3.1% drop in gasoline prices.
The cost of food increased just 1.0% in October, breaking a nine-month string
of outsized gains. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose
2.1% from October 2010 through October 2011 and has been trending higher.
Consumer inflation is unlikely to fall significantly in the near term, assuming
that the economy continues to expand, according to T. Rowe Price
estimates. The domestic news had to be viewed against the backdrop of the
ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe and its potential to derail global
economic growth. Treasuries were mixed during the week, with the two-year yield
rising and longer-term yields declining from their levels of a week earlier.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
November 25, 2011 |
November 18, 2011 |
|
2-Year |
0.27% |
0.28% |
|
10-Year |
1.96% |
2.01% |
|
30-Year |
2.92% |
2.99% |
This
table is for illustrative purposes only. Past performance cannot guarantee
future results.
1Source of data: Bloomberg.com, as of 2 p.m. ET Friday, November
25, 2011.
___________
International Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for
the week ending November 18, 2011 with the broad international measure, the
MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), losing -4.06%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
-4.06% |
-12.63% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
-5.06% |
-15.13% |
|
Denmark |
-0.90% |
-16.28% |
|
France |
-6.30% |
-17.22% |
|
Germany |
-5.84% |
-15.50% |
|
Italy |
-4.54% |
-19.09% |
|
Netherlands |
-6.27% |
-15.21% |
|
Spain |
-4.31% |
-10.57% |
|
Sweden |
-6.38% |
-18.38% |
|
Switzerland |
-2.71% |
-9.05% |
|
United Kingdom |
-4.90% |
-4.89% |
|
Japan |
-1.14% |
-15.14% |
|
AC Far East ex-Japan |
-2.71% |
-14.25% |
|
Hong Kong |
-2.92% |
-16.55% |
|
Korea |
-2.91% |
-10.81% |
|
Malaysia |
-1.57% |
-4.78% |
|
Singapore |
-2.72% |
-15.70% |
|
Taiwan |
-1.84% |
-19.11% |
|
Thailand |
-0.68% |
-5.33% |
|
EM Latin America |
-4.67% |
-17.67% |
|
Brazil |
-4.51% |
-19.67% |
|
Mexico |
-5.30% |
-11.62% |
|
Argentina |
-4.77% |
-36.32% |
|
EM (Emerging Markets) |
-3.77% |
-16.70% |
|
Hungary |
0.73% |
-28.86% |
|
India |
-7.69% |
-30.73% |
|
Israel |
-1.13% |
-25.11% |
|
Russia |
-2.97% |
-12.42% |
|
Turkey |
-6.34% |
-29.48% |
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 -0.94%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed Markets |
-0.94% |
5.94% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-1.12% |
11.23% |
|
France |
-1.96% |
1.74% |
|
Germany |
-2.02% |
8.73% |
|
Italy |
-2.25% |
-7.46% |
|
Spain |
-4.31% |
-0.62% |
|
Sweden |
-2.82% |
10.59% |
|
United Kingdom |
-1.24% |
15.11% |
|
Japan |
0.30% |
7.81% |
|
Emerging Markets |
-0.81% |
8.00% |
|
Argentina |
-4.56% |
-13.50% |
|
Brazil |
-0.43% |
11.57% |
|
Bulgaria |
-0.73% |
1.71% |
|
Russia |
-0.50% |
6.68% |
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 |
76.900 |
-0.22% |
-5.47% |
|
Euro |
1.35231 |
1.54% |
-0.80% |
|
British pound |
1.5791 |
1.80% |
-0.85% |
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.