The French CAC 40 continues to power ahead and climbed a strong 1.77% last week…pushing its YTD return to an impressive +16.65%, by far the best performer of our group. Several companies reported mixed numbers this past week but a strong U.S. jobs number has put a December rate lift-off firmly on the front burner again.
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.
Each of the indices I track ended squarely in the red last week as negative news reports – corporate and economic – and large currency moves sent investors fleeing stocks.
The Chinese Yuan devaluation, disappointing Chinese manufacturing numbers, and poor earnings coupled with reduced forecasts from American blue chips Deere and HP were among the negative news bites which sent investors bailing out of stocks and seeking safety in treasuries.
On a more positive note, Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 are still up 3.25%, 8.38%, and 11.38% respectively since the beginning of the year despite this week’s market carnage.
A review of how some of the major stock market indices did over the past week:
The Security Whisperer 