World Markets Update: Modest Improvement

After two consecutive weeks in which all eight of the world indexes on our watch list posted losses, the past week shows some improvement. Although the average of the eight is still negative for the week at -0.17%, five of the indexes posted gains. Japan's Nikkei was the top performer with its 1.90% advance, followed by India's SENSEX, up 1.03%. The two Eurozone indexes—the DAX and the CAC 40—rose 0.44% and their Brexit-pondering EU neighbor, the FTSE, inched up a fractional 0.21%. China's Shanghai Composite was the biggest loser, down nearly three percent, and the Hang Seng was down nearly two percent.

A Closer Look at the Last Four Weeks

The tables below provide a concise overview of performance comparisons over the past four weeks for these eight major indexes. We'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.

Global Indexes Past 4-Weeks Performance

A Closer Look at the Year-to-Date Performance

Here is an overlay of the eight illustrating their comparative performance so far in 2016.

World Markets 2016, Performance as of May 13

Major Markets 2016 YTD Performance

Here is a table of the 2016 performance, sorted from high to low, along with the interim highs for the eight indexes. The top performing S&P 500 is the only index with a year-to-date gain, unchanged from last week. China's Shanghai Composite has the dubious distinction of biggest loser last week, down over 20 percent.

The Global Bear Market Perspective

The column chart is sorted by the least to worst declines from previous peaks as of the week's end. Seven of our eight watch list indexes had dropped into bear territory (a 20% decline), the S&P 500 being the sole exception. As of the latest close, four of the eight have remain in the bear zone, unchanged from last week.

Global Bear Markets

A Longer Perspective

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.

World Markets Since March 2009

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 SENSEX and Hang Seng) up to their 2007 peaks is evident, and the SENSEX remains by far the top performer. The Shanghai, in contrast, formed a perfect Eiffel Tower from late 2006 to late 2009.

World Markets Since 2000

Check back next week for a new update.

Note: We track Germany's DAXK a price-only index, instead of the more familiar DAX index (which includes dividends), for consistency with the other indexes, which do not include dividends.

All the indexes are calculated in their local currencies.