STOCK INDEX PERFORMANCE
Index Week YTD 12-mo. 2007 5-yr.
DOW JONES 30 (12325) -2.19% -6.45% 1.05% 8.88% 10.97%
S&P 500 (1333) -2.69% -8.68% -5.54% 5.49% 10.96%
NASDAQ 100 (1799) -3.60% -13.61% 0.54% 19.24% 12.30%
S&P 500/Citigroup Growth -1.80% -8.38% -1.37% 9.25% 8.83%
S&P 500/Citigroup Value -3.63% -9.01% -9.42% 2.03% 13.17%
S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Growth -1.59% -6.01% -0.78% 13.55% 14.56%
S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Value -2.23% -6.93% -10.65% 2.84% 16.54%
S&P SmallCap600/Citigroup Growth -3.24% -8.13% -8.24% 5.66% 15.22%
S&P SmallCap600/Citigroup Value -4.18% -6.96% -14.27% -5.19% 15.61%
MSCI EAFE -1.51% -6.51% -2.35% 11.76% 21.67%
MSCI World (ex US) -1.47% -6.24% -0.89% 13.04% 22.11%
MSCI World -2.01% -7.28% -2.90% 9.69% 16.29%
MSCI Emerging Markets 1.40% -6.41% 22.96% 39.23% 35.14%
Source: Bloomberg. Returns are total returns. The 5-yr. return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 04/11/08.
S&P SECTOR PERFORMANCE
Index Week YTD 12-mo. 2007 5-yr.
Consumer Discretionary -3.63% -5.87% -19.08% -13.21% 6.44%
Consumer Staples -1.49% -2.80% 7.20% 14.36% 10.78%
Energy 0.08% -2.81% 24.36% 34.41% 28.81%
Financials -4.56% -13.15% -27.25% -18.52% 5.48%
Health Care -0.98% -10.18% -7.24% 7.32% 4.95%
Industrials -5.85% -6.73% 3.18% 12.04% 13.92%
Information Technology -2.93% -14.81% -1.61% 16.30% 10.25%
Materials -2.06% 1.31% 12.59% 22.53% 20.68%
Telecom Services -2.52% -14.96% -11.12% 11.88% 13.11%
Utilities 0.00% -6.97% -0.93% 19.38% 20.26%
Source: Bloomberg. Returns are total returns. The 5-yr. return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 04/11/08.
BOND INDEX PERFORMANCE
Index Week YTD 12-mo. 2007 5-yr.
U.S. Treasury: Intermediate 0.15% 4.17% 11.88% 8.83% 4.33%
GNMA 30 Year -0.01% 2.85% 8.51% 6.97% 4.82%
U.S. Aggregate 0.17% 2.44% 8.16% 6.97% 4.70%
U.S. Corporate High Yield 0.28% -1.31% -2.26% 1.88% 8.72%
U.S. Corporate Investment Grade 0.38% 0.73% 4.01% 4.56% 4.52%
Municipal Bond: Long Bond (22+) 2.95% -0.23% -0.26% 0.46% 5.21%
Global Aggregate 0.32% 6.42% 14.93% 9.48% 7.49%
Source: Lehman Bros. Returns include reinvested interest.The 5-yr.return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 04/11/08.
KEY RATES
As of 04/11
Fed Funds 2.25% 5-YR CD 3.26%
LIBOR (1-month) 2.72% 2-YR Note 1.74%
CPI - Headline 4.00% 5-YR Note 2.57%
CPI - Core 2.30% 10-YR Note 3.46%
Money Market Accts. 2.28% 30-YR T-Bond 4.29%
Money Market Funds 2.33% 30-YR Mortgage 5.59%
6-mo. CD 2.75% Prime Rate 5.25%
1-YR CD 2.91% Bond Buyer 40 4.97%
Sources: Bankrate.com, iMoneyNet.com and Bloomberg WEEKLY FUND FLOWS
Week of 04/09 Previous
Equity Funds $901 M $3.1 B
Including ETF activity, Domestic funds reporting net outflows of
-$1.455 B and Non-domestic funds reporting net inflows of $2.356 B.
Bond Funds $2.9 B $1.1 B
The largest reported inflows were by High Yield Corporate funds, $669
Mil, the largest net inflows reported to the sector since 6/1/2005.
Municipal Bond Funds $345 M $333 M
Money Markets $32.032 B -$5.388 B
Bringing total net assets in the sector to $3.5 trillion.
Source: AMG Data Services
FACTOIDS FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 7TH - APRIL 11TH
Monday, April 7, 2008
The weak dollar is certainly one of the forces pushing the price of oil higher,
but it pales in comparison to the influence speculators have had in recent
years. Since the start of 2002, the U.S. dollar is down 35% versus a basket
of major currencies, while the price of oil has surged from $19.84 per barrel
to $106.23 this past Friday, according to data from Bloomberg. In 2000,
approximately $9 billion was invested in oil futures, versus $250 billion today,
according to BusinessWeek.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
S&P 500 stock buyback activity for 2007 totaled a record $589 billion, a
36.4% increase over the $432 billion spent in 2006, and a 350% increase
from the $131 billion registered in 2003, according to Standard & Poor’s.
Companies spent $246 billion on cash dividends in 2007. Over the past
thirteen quarters (buyback boom began Q4’04), companies spent $1.44
trillion on buybacks, versus $1.56 trillion on capital expenditures and $721
billion on dividends. In Q4’07, information technology companies were the
most active accounting for 22.3% of all buybacks.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual survey just released
showed the weakest worker confidence in seven years with just 61% of
those polled saying they were either “very confident” or “somewhat
confident” of having enough money for retirement, according to
MSNBC.com. That is the poorest showing since 2001, when the U.S. was in
recession and only 63% of workers were confident they were on the right
track. The survey also revealed that nearly 50% of workers have saved less
than $25,000 for their retirement, while just 12% have set aside $250,000 or
more.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The U.S. hardwood lumber industry is suffering these days as more orders
are being shipped overseas where prices are lower due to cheaper labor and
operating costs, according to MSNBC.com. Furniture makers, in particular,
have been moving their operations overseas for the past decade. As a result,
U.S. hardwood production has dropped from 12.6 billion board feet in 1999
to 10.7 billion in 2007. The price of 1,000 board feet has declined from
$1,200-$1,400 to as low as $900. The number of timber and logging
equipment operator jobs has declined by 13% and 17%, respectively, since
2000.
Friday, April 11, 2008
While the debate over whether the U.S. economy is in recession or not
carries on, it may be helpful to know how stocks perform in such downturns.
Since 1953, the S&P 500 declined an average of 8.6% in the first half of
recessionary periods, according to Citigroup Global Markets. The worst firsthalf
showing in the past five recessions was -17.4% (12/73-3/75). The S&P
500 posted an average gain of 13.2% in the second half of recessionary
periods since 1953. The best second-half showing in the past five recessions
was +23.7% (8/81-11/82). The S&P 500 has declined 12.15% since it
peaked on October 9, 2007.
The above was gathered by and posted from
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. • APPROVED FOR PUBLIC USE • 04/14/08
Web link to this and all previous weekly information is
here