The last (and abbreviated) trading week of 2015 saw all but two of the indices closing lower. A December turnaround in the German market saw that country’s DAX index overtake Japan’s Nikkei 225 to emerge the top performer of 2015 with a strong return of +9.56%.
With the exception of Japan, investors enjoyed a Santa rally this week as six of the seven indices I track posted strong gains comfortably in excess of 1.5%. London’s FTSE 100 was the week’s top performer followed by Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40.
Investors digested the Fed’s decision to raise rates by dipping back into the market and allowing several indices to recover some ground lost last week. Four of the seven indices shown above are posting negative returns on a YTD basis, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 occupying 2015’s top spot thus far with a strong gain of about 8.4%. The rout in commodities has not been kind to Canada’s S&P/TSX composite, handing it the dubious distinction of being this year’s worst performer to date (-10.92%).
Strong U.S. employment numbers coupled with what many considered to be an inadequate course of action by the ECB last week saw most market fall sharply. The markets hardest hit were Germany’s DAX (nearly 5%) and France’s CAC 40 (down more than 430 bps). North American indices closed the week surprisingly flat given news released this past week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 continues to lead on a YTD basis with a gain of 11.77%. With an upcoming FED rate rise later this month all but certain, we can expect some further profit taking in the near term.
Investors were dealt a mixed hand last week as four of the seven indices closed higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.37% to occupy the top spot last week. On a YTD basis France’s CAC 40 was the best performer with a gain of 14.63% followed by Germany’s DAX at +10.65%.
Last week was a good week for equity investors as each of the indices ended higher. Germany’s DAX was last week’s top performer with a gain of 6.8% followed by France’s CAC 40 at +4.7%. The French CAC 40 continues to lead on a YTD basis. China’s recent rate cut and musings about further European QE could see further gains next week.
Each of the indices recorded strong gains last week as bargain hunters swept the market and concerns over a FED rate rise this year seemed increasingly unlikely.
Glencore continued its recovery this week, closing up an astonishing 36% which would seem to indicate overly bearish sentiment fading away (no doubt the Company’s decision to cut zinc production also played a part in the rally).
The French CAC-40 is the year’s top performer with an amazing +10% return followed by Japan’s NIkkei 225 (+5.66%) and London’s FTSE 100 (+2.97%) .
Canada’s S&P/TSX sat out last week’s market rally to post a small week-over-week decline of 12bps. Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC40, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 continue to be in the black with pretty decent YTD numbers.
Bargain hunters went shopping last week as all but one of the indices I tracked finished higher; last week’s 2.9% gain in the S&P/TSX composite made it the top performer. Major oil-field services company Schlumberger also went shopping last week when it announced a deal to acquire smaller rival Cameron International in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately USD$12.7B. Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 are still posting decent positive YTD numbers.
A review of how some of the major stock market indices did over the past week:
The Security Whisperer 