Courtesy of Doug Short.
Six of the eight world markets in our competition finished last week in the green, with the BSE SENSEX as the winner, leading the charge with a 6.14% gain. The Hang Seng and FTSE 100 were in a close tie for second place with gains a bit above 3%. In fact, the FTSE has nudged ahead of the S&P 500 to take top spot for the least decline since its interim high. The S&P 500 was one of the two markets that finished in the red — the 500 down a fractional 0.24%. The Shanghai Composite was the week’s big loser, down 3.21%, a loss that drops it to the bottom of our World Markets division.
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, 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, Hang Seng) is readily apparent.
Check back next weekend for a new update.
