Week Ended December 23,
2010
Stocks enjoyed another
round of gains in the holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 enjoyed its
largest gain on Tuesday, as investors drove financial shares higher in response
to news that Toronto-Dominion Bank was acquiring auto lender Chrysler Financial
from a private equity group. The markets maintained their momentum on Wednesday
despite mildly disappointing news on existing home sales in November. The gains
helped lift the S&P to its highest level since the eve of Lehman’s
collapse in the fall of 2008. Thursday brought a host of mostly positive
economic data, but it failed to drive further gains in light pre-holiday
trading. Durable goods orders excluding the volatile transportation sector rose
by 2.6% in November, partially reversing a sharp decline in October. Weekly
jobless claims continued to trend lower, and a gauge of consumer sentiment was
revised slightly higher.
U.S. Stocks1 |
|||
Index2 |
Thursday's Close |
Week's Change |
% Change |
DJIA |
11573.49 |
81.58 |
10.98% |
S&P
500 |
1256.77 |
12.86 |
12.70% |
NASDAQ
Composite |
2665.60 |
22.63 |
17.47% |
S&P
MidCap 400 |
910.79 |
8.15 |
25.34% |
Russell
2000 |
788.97 |
9.62 |
24.43% |
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 23,
2010
Consumers are beginning to
feel a bit more optimistic about their job prospects and the direction of the
economy, according to data compiled by the Thomson Reuters/University of
Michigan survey released on Thursday, December 23. Twenty-seven percent of
consumers reported upbeat news about their employment gains, the highest level
since 1983. The government reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized
rate of 2.6%, slightly faster than was previously estimated, and forecasters
have been raising their growth projections for the fourth quarter of 2010. The
news gave investors reason for hope as we close out the year and look ahead to
the first quarter of 2011. The bond market responded by pushing Treasury yields
higher during the holiday-shortened week; the Treasury market closed at 2 p.m.
on Thursday.
U.S. Treasury Yields1 |
||
Maturity |
December 23, 2010 |
December 17, 2010 |
2-Year |
0.65% |
0.60% |
10-Year |
3.38% |
3.32% |
30-Year |
4.47% |
4.42% |
This table is for
illustrative purposes only. Past performance cannot guarantee future
results.
1Source of data: Bloomberg.com, as of 2
p.m. ET Thursday, December 23, 2010.
___________
Week Ended December 17,
2010
International
Stocks
Foreign stock markets closed lower for the week ending December
17, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe,
Australasia, and Far East), losing -0.09%.
|
||
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
EAFE |
-0.09% |
5.77% |
Europe ex-U.K. |
-0.22% |
0.63% |
Denmark |
1.07% |
28.11% |
France |
-0.13% |
-3.68% |
Germany |
-0.83% |
8.07% |
Italy |
-2.22% |
-16.30% |
Netherlands |
-0.52% |
-0.73% |
Spain |
-3.15% |
-22.47% |
Sweden |
2.49% |
31.95% |
Switzerland |
1.12% |
9.90% |
United
Kingdom |
-1.07% |
7.01% |
Japan |
1.24% |
11.77% |
AC
Far East ex-Japan |
-0.50% |
16.86% |
Hong Kong |
-1.34% |
21.57% |
Korea |
1.27% |
23.60% |
Malaysia |
-0.15% |
33.13% |
Singapore |
-1.42% |
17.24% |
Taiwan |
1.98% |
18.09% |
Thailand |
-2.18% |
54.51% |
EM
Latin America |
0.41% |
10.29% |
Brazil |
0.33% |
1.26% |
Mexico |
0.88% |
24.63% |
Argentina |
-3.78% |
73.06% |
EM
(Emerging Markets) |
0.07% |
15.41% |
Hungary |
0.11% |
-9.95% |
India |
1.03% |
15.44% |
Israel |
0.64% |
3.06% |
Russia |
1.46% |
17.80% |
Turkey |
-5.04% |
16.63% |
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
-0.57%.
|
||
Region/Country |
Week's Return |
% Change Year-to-Date |
Developed
Markets |
-0.57% |
3.24% |
Europe |
|
|
Denmark |
-0.91% |
-1.66% |
France |
-1.21% |
-3.95% |
Germany |
-1.04% |
-3.33% |
Italy |
-0.99% |
-8.31% |
Spain |
-1.29% |
-13.29% |
Sweden |
0.25% |
7.40% |
United
Kingdom |
-2.23% |
1.27% |
Japan |
0.09% |
12.61% |
Emerging
Markets |
-2.07% |
10.65% |
Argentina |
-2.67% |
30.60% |
Brazil |
-2.52% |
8.43% |
Bulgaria |
-0.69% |
7.67% |
Russia |
-0.50% |
7.78% |
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 |
84.135 |
0.24% |
-10.65% |
Euro |
1.3151 |
0.54% |
8.35% |
British
pound |
1.54691 |
2.05% |
4.21% |
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.