Weekly Global Market Commentary

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Weekly Global Market Commentary

  • Market Recap - Week Ending 03/05/10 - 03/08/2010

    The US Labor Department said the economy lost 36K jobs last months after shedding a revised 26K positions in December, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7%. Job losses were expected to be larger than reported as the recent snowstorms in the East Coast impacted hiring. The news increased confidence among market participants that labor markets continued to stabilize last month although we have a long way to go before we see some robust hiring activity.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 02/26/10 - 03/01/2010

    Emerging market indices posted a strong week, led by the Hang Seng, while North America and Europe were relatively flat. For the month of February, worldwide equity indices were decidedly mixed - with gains in North America, losses in Japan and Europe (ex-UK), and gains in most emerging markets. The U.S. dollar made significant inroads against the Euro and pound sterling during the month.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 02/19/10 - 02/22/2010

    North American and European equity indices posted a strong week, with average gains of 3%, while emerging markets remained relatively flat. After a four-week selloff that saw a technical correction in the broad market of roughly 10%, the recent two-week rally has brought the major market indices close to break-even levels for the year.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 02/12/10 - 02/15/2010

    Worldwide equity indices staged a mild turnaround last week, following a 4-week selloff. Markets were decidedly lower on Friday, however, on news that China will curb bank lending in order to stay ahead of the inflation curve. The European Union stated its...


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 02/05/10 - 02/08/2010

    Following a week of strong corporate earnings and a mixed employment report, North American equities staged an impressive rally on Friday, rebounding from a steep early decline. Foreign equity markets, however - particularly those in Europe - continued to sell off, with ongoing worries over deteriorating sovereign debt.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 01/29/10 - 02/01/2010

    Chinese bank lending curbs and uncertainties in Europe and Asia – in particular concerns regarding British, Japanese, and Greek sovereign debt – made for a choppy week in equity markets and led to gains across the board for the U.S. dollar, along with a significant decline in commodity prices. Strong earnings reports from the likes of Apple, Intel, and Google, and a better-than-expected U.S. GDP report on Friday did little to avail investor concerns, as equity markets started off strongly, but ended up down for the 7th time out of the past 10 trading sessions.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 11/13/09 - 11/16/2009

    Driven primarily by a weakness in the U.S. dollar, equities gained last week with the Dow pulling ahead 2.5%. The dollar fell starting last Monday after a G-20 meeting promised more aid to help the global recovery. This also spurred a rise in commodities, including gold which was up 2.2% for the week and has now risen 52% year-over-year.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 11/6/09 - 11/09/2009

    Markets ended the week sharply higher with the Dow and S&P up 3.2% each. Investors reacted favorably to solid results from Cisco, a surge in nonfarm productivity, and M&A activity. In what he called “an all-in wager” on the future of the U.S. economy, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy the railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a $44 billion deal. Positive momentum helped investors gloss over worse-than-expected U.S. unemployment of 10.2% on Friday.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 10/16/09 - 10/19/2009

    Markets closed higher week-over-week after positive reactions to several earnings beats. JPMorgan, IBM, Google, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup all came in ahead of expectations while Bank of America fell short. In the end, the S&P and Dow closed 1.5% and 1.3% higher, respectively. The dollar did not fare so well, hitting a 52-week low, which in turn let to a surge in commodities. Gold hit an all time (nominal) high while oil hit 2009 highs.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 10/2/09 - 10/05/2009

    Markets closed lower for the second straight week after a batch of disappointing economic data. The Dow and S&P 500 were off 1.8% each while the MSCI World fared worse at a 2.4% decline. Employment numbers from last week (ADP Employment change on Wed., Initial Jobless Claims on Thurs., and Nonfarm Payrolls on Fri) were all worse than expected and painted a grim picture of the U.S. economy.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 9/18/09 - 09/21/2009

    Markets gained solidly last week across the board. The Dow and S&P 500 rose 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively, while the MSCI World Index finished 1.8% higher week-over-week. Gold was flat on the week, oil gained 4.0%, and natural gas jumped 27.6%. Retail sales, industrial production, and manufacturing numbers came in better than expected and helped feed the bullish markets.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 9/11/09 - 09/14/2009

    Equity markets performed well last week with many benchmark indices hitting new highs for 2009. The S&P closed 2.6% higher, European stocks were up over 3% on average, and the MSCI World Index finished 4.1% higher. Economic data was somewhat supportive. In the U.S., jobless claims beat expectations but remained at high levels.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 8/28/09 - 08/31/2009

    Other than a slight stumble at the end of last week, markets have been climbing steadily.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 8/21/09 - 08/24/2009

    Despite the typical summer lull in trading volumes, many major equity indices including the Dow, S&P 500, DJ EURO STOXX 50, and MSCI World were able to close at their highest levels of 2009 on Friday. Economic data has been trickling in, supporting the market’s expectations that the global recession is now over and a recovery has begun.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 8/14/09 - 08/17/2009

    After a month of progress, markets took a breather last week with the Dow and S&P 500 falling 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. In the U.S., wholesale and business inventories, retail sales, and consumer sentiment came in below expectations. Though there have been signs that the recession is ending, consumer and industrial spending continue to lag. In the rest of the world, signs of improvement have been more promising. Germany, France, and Hong Kong all reported unexpected GDP growth for the second quarter. Overall, real GDP in the Euro-zone declined only 0.1%, better than expected. Likewise, industrial production in both China and India rose healthily in recent months.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 7/27/09 - 07/27/2009

    In a sharp reversal from a month of declines, equity markets have rallied recently with the S&P 500 jumping more than 11% over the last two weeks.


  • Market Recap - Week Ending 7/3/09 - 07/06/2009

    Economic fears pressured stocks for the third straight week. Sentiment has changed from confidence of a recovery in the second half of 2009 to uncertainty about a distinct recovery. The only major index posting an advance was Shanghai, which posted an impressive gain of 5.5% week-over-week and is now up over 14% year-over-year. Commodities and related equities were amongst the key decliners, which comes as no surprise since economic growth is the key driver of demand for natural resources. As investors continue to reassess the outlook for a global economic recovery, weakness could continue until there is more definitive proof of green shoots. This is especially true for data out of the largest economies such as the United States. Last week, however, markets were disappointed by a uninspiring jobs report. Unemployment in the U.S. now stands at 9.5%, a 25-year high.


 

Market Commentary Archive