Now that we’re about to close the month of June and the first semester of 2013, it’s probably a good time to look at the performance of several of the major stock indices in the World. We gathered a small sample of 11 domestic stock indices from North and South America, Europe and Asia, in order to sort them out according to their YTD (Year-To-Date) change/performance.
The first and immediate conclusion is that the Japanese stock market would have been the right pick for investors during this first semester of 2013, leaving all competition far behind in the standings. The Nikkei-225 saw its whole value increasing around 23.63% in the first half of the year, while its main contender from the United States, the S&P-500, had to settle with a positive 12.2% shift.
However, this highly impressive performance from the Japanese market would have been even more stunning if it wasn’t for the big fall that the Nikkei-225 suffered back in May. From May 15 until now, this stock index has plunged roughly -14.98% and several analysts didn’t lose much time to come up with a few possible explanations for why this happened. Some pointed fingers to the fact that the Yen became substantially stronger, but also to the Japanese‘s prime minister (Minister Shinzo Abe) constant delay in going forward with a clear growth strategy. Others for instance, preferred to focus on the undeniable fear and concern caused by the U.S. Federal Reserve decisions and plans to intervene in the markets.
On the bottom of the list we get BOVESPA, the most representative Brazilian stock exchange these days. Following the troubled period that has started with people rioting all over Brazil, the BOVESPA has plunged significantly and has already reached values that weren’t seen since 2009. We’re sure the second half of the 2013 semester will be holding quite a few surprises for investors, but so far, Japan has clearly been on the lead of this particular race.
Major stock indices performance for the 1st semester of 2013:
#1: Nikkei-225 (Japan): +23.63%
#2: S&P-500 (United States): +10.31%
#3: FTSE 100 (United Kingdom): +3.58%
#4: DAX (Germany): +2.72%
#5: PSI-20 (Portugal): +1.58%
#6: CAC-40 (France): +0.76%
#7: AEX (Holland): -1.56%
#8: MIBTEL (Italy): -3.94%
#9: IBEX-35 (Spain): -7.14%
#10: Hang Seng (Hong Kong): -12.32%
#11: Bovespa (Brazil): -23.89%
Sources: bloomberg.com / marketwatch.com
About the Author: Guilherme Neto
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