Week Ended November 26,
2010
Large-cap stocks moved
lower for the holiday-shortened week, but smaller shares and the
technology-oriented Nasdaq managed gains. Investors continued to pay close
attention to developments outside the U.S. Stocks headed sharply lower at the
start of trading Monday in response to continuing worries about Ireland's debt
situation, but a rally in technology shares, fueled by news of a takeover of a
prominent software firm, helped stage a rebound. The major indexes resumed
their descent on Tuesday, following an artillery attack by North Korea across
its border with South Korea. In addition to raising concerns about the
possibility of escalating conflict on the Korean peninsula, the attack weighed
on stocks by driving a rise in the U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. exports less
competitive. Stocks regained their losses on Wednesday, thanks in large part to
good news on the labor market. The Labor Department reported a sharp drop in
weekly jobless claims, along with news that continuing claims had fallen to
their lowest level since the start of the financial crisis in late 2008.
Investors returned from the Thanksgiving holiday in a selling mood and drove a
decline in prices to end the week. News that holders of Irish bonds might be
forced to accept losses as part of a bailout package being negotiated by the
European Union and International Monetary Fund weighed on sentiment, as did
increased concern about the debt situation in Portugal.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
11092.00 |
-111.33 |
6.37% |
|
S&P
500 |
1189.40 |
-10.32 |
6.66% |
|
NASDAQ
Composite |
2534.56 |
16.44 |
11.70 |
|
S&P
MidCap 400 |
859.43 |
9.10 |
18.27% |
|
Russell
2000 |
733.64 |
9.05 |
15.70% |
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.
____________
Week Ended November 26,
2010
Treasury yields held fairly
steady for the holiday-shortened week despite significant volatility.
Longer-term yields fell early in the week in response to heightened tensions on
the Korean peninsula, which drove demand for safe haven assets. Investors also
reacted to continuing worries about Ireland's debt situation, and whether other
heavily indebted European nations would also require assistance. Yields rose
back to earlier levels on Wednesday, however, in response to encouraging labor
market news and signs of strength in German manufacturing. The week's economic
data were mixed overall. Personal incomes rose at a marginally faster rate than
widely expected in October and a gauge of consumer confidence increased. Orders
of durable goods declined in October, however, as did sales of new homes. On
Tuesday, the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting
showed that officials had reduced their near-term forecast for economic growth.
The Fed currently expects the economy to grow between 3.0% and 3.6% in 2011; in
June, the Fed had expected growth of between 3.5% and 4.2%.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
November 26, 2010 |
November 19, 2010 |
|
2-Year |
0.51% |
0.50% |
|
10-Year |
2.87% |
2.87% |
|
30-Year |
4.21% |
4.24% |
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 26, 2010.
___________
Week Ended November 19,
2010
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for the week ending November
19, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe,
Australasia, and Far East), losing -0.28%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
-0.28% |
5.98% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
0.30% |
2.42% |
|
Denmark |
-0.26% |
26.77% |
|
France |
0.35% |
-0.80% |
|
Germany |
1.38% |
9.73% |
|
Italy |
-0.54% |
-10.52% |
|
Netherlands |
0.81% |
2.59% |
|
Spain |
0.16% |
-15.59% |
|
Sweden |
0.93% |
25.62% |
|
Switzerland |
-0.92% |
7.72% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-2.21% |
7.72% |
|
Japan |
1.36% |
9.03% |
|
AC
Far East ex-Japan |
-0.78% |
16.84% |
|
Hong Kong |
-1.79% |
24.79% |
|
Korea |
1.73% |
18.92% |
|
Malaysia |
0.81% |
33.62% |
|
Singapore |
-1.49% |
19.85% |
|
Taiwan |
-0.20% |
9.20% |
|
Thailand |
-0.64% |
55.60% |
|
EM
Latin America |
0.48% |
11.88% |
|
Brazil |
0.53% |
4.13% |
|
Mexico |
1.14% |
22.00% |
|
Argentina |
0.87% |
69.27% |
|
EM
(Emerging Markets) |
-0.80% |
14.97% |
|
Hungary |
2.72% |
-1.39% |
|
India |
-4.73% |
14.86% |
|
Israel |
2.91% |
-0.18% |
|
Russia |
-0.75% |
8.41% |
|
Turkey |
-0.09% |
40.52% |
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
-1.48%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed
Markets |
-1.48% |
6.60% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-1.62% |
3.96% |
|
France |
-1.31% |
1.48% |
|
Germany |
-1.43% |
1.81% |
|
Italy |
-0.75% |
-3.08% |
|
Spain |
-1.44% |
-6.21% |
|
Sweden |
-1.35% |
8.66% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-2.23% |
4.96% |
|
Japan |
-1.57% |
14.12% |
|
Emerging
Markets |
-0.93% |
14.18% |
|
Argentina |
-0.23% |
34.63% |
|
Brazil |
-0.54% |
13.05% |
|
Bulgaria |
-0.36% |
9.11% |
|
Russia |
-1.08% |
10.11% |
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 |
83.460 |
1.31% |
-11.54% |
|
Euro |
1.36621 |
0.30% |
4.78% |
|
British
pound |
1.59521 |
1.24% |
1.22% |
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.