Courtesy of Doug Short.
Kudos to to France’s benchmark index, the CAC 40, which turned in the top weekly gain, 2.44%, of our team of eight world indexes. It was about time. The index had been in dead last or next-to-last place for the previous five weeks, so a rebound was not unexpected. The S&P 500 finished second with an impressive 1.80% advance, which was enough for it to regain the distinction of double-digit year-to-date returns. The DAXK and FTSE rounded the list of positive gains with modest advances.
The Asia-Pacific indexes all posted losses for the week, with the SENSEX edging out the Hang Seng for the dubious distinction of last place. The average of the eight indexes was a fractional positive 0.17%, a full percent decline from the 1.17% of the previous week.
The adjacent table shows the 2012 year-to-date performance of our indexes. The DAXK (DAX ex dividends) has taken over the top spot from the Hang Seng, which drops to a close third behind the Nikkei 225 index. This weekend five of the eight indexes are holding double-digit gains, up from four last week, with the S&P 500 returning to the 10% plus list. The CAC 40 still occupies the YTD cellar, but owing to its strong performance, its now only slightly behind the seventh place index across the English Channel.
A Closer Look at the Last Four Weeks
The tables below provide a concise overview of performance comparisons over the past four weeks for these eight major indexes. I’ve also included the average for each week so that we can evaluate the performance of a specific index relative to the overall mean and better understand weekly volatility. The colors for each index name help us visualize the comparative performance over time.
The chart below illustrates the comparative performance of World Markets since March 9, 2009. The start date is arbitrary: The S&P 500, CAC 40 and BSE SENSEX hit their lows on March 9th, the Nikkei 225 on March 10th, the DAX on March 6th, the FTSE on March 3rd, the Shanghai Composite on November 4, 2008, and the Hang Seng even earlier on October 27, 2008. However, by aligning on the same day and measuring the percent change, we get a better sense of the relative performance than if we align the lows.
A Longer Look Back
Here is the same chart starting from the turn of 21st century. The relative over-performance of the emerging markets (Shanghai, Mumbai SENSEX, Hang Seng) is readily apparent.
Check back next weekend for a new update.
Note from dshort: At the suggestion of Joerg Willig, a finance professional in Germany, I replaced the DAX index, which includes dividends, with the price-only DAXK, which is consistent with the other indexes.
