Courtesy of Doug Short
Major world markets were up on average 0.88% last week, but the gains were primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. The Nikkei was up 2.73%, which puts it within about 1% of regaining its level the day the Earthquake hit. The Hang Seng and Shanghai were up nearly 1.5% and the SENSEX finished fourth with a 0.51% gain. Western markets were relatively laggards, hovering near a flat finish for the week.
The tables below provide a concise overview of performance comparisons over the past four weeks for these seven 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. The colors for each index name help us trace 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 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, Hang Seng) is readily apparent.
Check back next weekend for a new update.
