Courtesy of Doug Short.
The world selloff continued last week, with all seven of the markets we’ve been tracking finishing the week with a loss — some quite severe. The DAX was the biggest loser, down 8.63%. It’s also the index that has slipped the furthest into bear territory, down 27.20% from its interim high set on May 2nd. In fact, five of the seven are now in cyclical bear territory, down 20% or more from their interim highs: The DAX, Nikkei, Hang Seng, Shanghai and, the newcomer this week, the BSE Sensex. The FTSE and S&P 500 remain above the traditional bear boundary, vying for the dubious designation as top performer during this world-wide correction.
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 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 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.
