U.S. stock markets finished the week - and the quarter - on a positive note.
The Federal Reserve's accommodative monetary policy and strong profit growth helped provide the lift needed to propel the S&P 500 Index to a record high. The Dow Jones Industrials Index also finished the week above its previous record close. For the quarter, the S&P 500 was up about 10 percent, the Dow was up about 11.3 percent, and the NASDAQ finished up about 8.2 percent.
Despite the strong performance overall, markets were somewhat choppy during the week. Concerns about Cyprus and the Eurozone debt crisis overshadowed markets early on. A positive report on durable goods from the Commerce Department helped push markets higher, as did a home-price index report from Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller that showed the biggest yearly increase in home prices since the summer of 2006. This report seemed to have held more sway with investors than either weaker-than-expected new home sales or lower-than-anticipated consumer confidence. Late in the week, the GDP growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2012 was revised upward, but remained sluggish at 0.4 percent annually.
The U.S. Treasury market generally has benefitted from worries inspired by the Eurozone debt crisis. The latest episodes in the crisis - the Cyprus bank bailout and Italy's failure to form a government - helped nudge rates lower last week. The U.S. continues to be perceived as relatively safe.
Fears about Eurozone debt issues generally have had a positive effect on gold prices, too, helping the precious metal reach a record high price in September 2011. That has not been the case this year. Gold finished the quarter down by more than 5 percent.
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Data as of 3/29/13
|
1-Week
|
Y-T-D
|
1-Year
|
3-Year
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
|
Standard & Poor's 500 (Domestic Stocks)
|
0.8%
|
10.0%
|
11.6%
|
10.2%
|
3.6%
|
6.2%
|
|
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only)
|
1.9
|
N/A
|
2.2
|
3.9
|
3.5
|
3.9
|
|
Gold (per ounce)
|
-0.6
|
-5.6
|
-4.6
|
13.0
|
11.3
|
17.1
|
|
DJ-UBS Commodity Index
|
-0.4
|
-1.1
|
-3.3
|
1.4
|
-7.8
|
2.0
|
|
DJ Equity All REIT TR Index
|
1.4
|
7.9
|
17.8
|
16.8
|
7.1
|
12.5
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Notes: S&P 500, Gold, DJ-UBS Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All REIT TR Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron's, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.
