by Doug Short
Except for the fractional gain of 0.23% for the Nikkei 225, all of the major world markets in this series lost ground over the week ending June 10. The Hang Seng suffered the largest decline, down 2.31%, with the S&P close behind at -2.24%. The FTSE, last week’s sole gainer, finished this week down 1.52%. The DAX, Shanghai Composite and BSE SENSEX kept their losses to a fractional percent: -0.55%, -0.59% and -0.84%, respectively. 
The chart below illustrates the comparative performance of World Markets since March 9, 2009. The start date is arbitrary: The S&P 500 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 out-performance of the emerging markets (Shanghai, Mumbai, Hang Seng) is readily apparent.
Doug Short is the founder of dshort.com, now more than five years old, which specializes in detailed graphical analysis of markets and economic factors. He has a Ph.D. from Duke, has been a full professor at North Carolina State University and has held positions with IBM and GlaxoSmithKline . Stay in touch:
Email: [email protected]
