Week Ended December 3, 2010
Stocks enjoyed a week of
solid gains thanks to rallies on Wednesday and Thursday. Trading started off
the week on a down note, as investors remained worried that Ireland’s
debt problems would not be contained by the recent rescue package and might
spread to other European countries. The markets surged on Wednesday when these
fears ebbed somewhat, due partly to speculation that the European Union would
bolster its rescue fund with help from the International Monetary Fund. Investors
were also encouraged by a favorable report on job growth in the U.S. from
payroll processing firm ADP, as well as news of healthy manufacturing gains in
the U.S., China, and Germany. Similar factors continued the rally on Thursday,
when the European Central Bank announced purchases of Irish and Portuguese
debt, and the National Association of Realtors revealed that pending home sales
in the U.S. had surged in October. Friday brought much more mixed economic
news. The Labor Department announced that employers had added a mere 39,000
jobs in November, well below expectations, and that unemployment had increased
to 9.8%, its highest level since April. While stocks slumped on the news, a
rise in the Institute for Supply Management’s
gauge of service sector activity helped bolster investor sentiment. A drop in
the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, which helps U.S. exporters, also
helped the broad averages end the day with modest gains.
|
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
|
Index2 |
Friday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
|
DJIA |
11382.09 |
290.09 |
9.15% |
|
S&P
500 |
1224.71 |
35.31 |
9.83% |
|
NASDAQ
Composite |
2591.46 |
56.90 |
14.20% |
|
S&P
MidCap 400 |
886.74 |
27.31 |
22.03% |
|
Russell
2000 |
757.50 |
23.86 |
19.47% |
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 December
3, 2010
The economic news was mixed
during the week. The labor market worsened, with only 39,000 new jobs added in
October compared with 172,000 a month earlier. At the same time, unemployment
rose from 9.6% to 9.8%, the highest level in seven months. Despite this
setback, the fitful recovery appears to be continuing. If the economy gains
momentum in the coming months, the unemployment rate could begin a slow, steady
decline sometime next year. On a brighter note, U.S. retailers reported
higher-than-expected sales in November and pending home sales surged in
October, offering investors a glimmer of hope that the worst may be over in
those areas. Also, in a major development, a presidential commission announced
a controversial plan to slash as much as $4 trillion in government debt in an
attempt to narrow the budget deficit over time, which drew bipartisan support.
Treasuries were mixed during the week, with the two-year yield slipping and
longer-term yields rising by the close of business on Friday.
|
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
|
Maturity |
December 3, 2010 |
November 26, 2010 |
|
2-Year |
0.48% |
0.51% |
|
10-Year |
3.02% |
2.87% |
|
30-Year |
4.32% |
4.21% |
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, December 3, 2010.
___________
Week Ended November 24,
2010
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for the week ending November
24, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe,
Australasia, and Far East), losing -0.81%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
EAFE |
-0.81% |
3.53% |
|
Europe ex-U.K. |
-1.49% |
-1.18% |
|
Denmark |
-0.92% |
23.95% |
|
France |
-2.06% |
-5.33% |
|
Germany |
0.74% |
7.25% |
|
Italy |
-3.95% |
-15.35% |
|
Netherlands |
-2.02% |
-1.52% |
|
Spain |
-5.98% |
-21.90% |
|
Sweden |
1.48% |
23.66% |
|
Switzerland |
-0.99% |
6.19% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-1.53% |
5.17% |
|
Japan |
1.50% |
8.71% |
|
AC
Far East ex-Japan |
0.30% |
14.94% |
|
Hong Kong |
-1.33% |
21.64% |
|
Korea |
2.44% |
17.93% |
|
Malaysia |
-0.84% |
31.18% |
|
Singapore |
-2.62% |
16.61% |
|
Taiwan |
0.51% |
8.67% |
|
Thailand |
2.51% |
54.65% |
|
EM
Latin America |
1.05% |
10.69% |
|
Brazil |
0.37% |
2.30% |
|
Mexico |
3.10% |
22.57% |
|
Argentina |
5.12% |
71.51% |
|
EM
(Emerging Markets) |
0.28% |
13.39% |
|
Hungary |
-0.74% |
-5.82% |
|
India |
-3.22% |
13.30% |
|
Israel |
0.34% |
-1.81% |
|
Russia |
1.99% |
8.01% |
|
Turkey |
-5.45% |
31.83% |
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
-0.91%.
|
|
||
|
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
|
Developed
Markets |
-0.91% |
5.63% |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Denmark |
-1.71% |
2.18% |
|
France |
-1.77% |
-0.32% |
|
Germany |
-1.62% |
0.16% |
|
Italy |
-2.22% |
-5.23% |
|
Spain |
-3.85% |
-9.83% |
|
Sweden |
-0.39% |
8.24% |
|
United
Kingdom |
-0.50% |
4.44% |
|
Japan |
-0.09% |
14.02% |
|
Emerging
Markets |
-0.03% |
13.99% |
|
Argentina |
3.52% |
35.74% |
|
Brazil |
-0.08% |
12.93% |
|
Bulgaria |
-0.34% |
8.47% |
|
Russia |
-0.80% |
9.33% |
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 |
83.370 |
0.34% |
-11.66% |
|
Euro |
1.33931 |
1.10% |
6.65% |
|
British
pound |
1.57811 |
0.88% |
2.28% |
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.