stocks
April 2016 in Figures
April 30, 2016
The dominant market themes in March had been strong oil and equities, dollar and yen weakness, and modest sovereign debt yield increases. In April, West Texas Intermediate crude oil extended March’s 13.6% advance with a further leap of 19.8%, but yen strength was the big currency market story. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose except for […] More
March and the First Quarter in Figures
April 1, 2016
March was unlike January and February. Ten-year sovereign bond yields edged a little higher last month but recorded substantial declines in the quarter. Equities likewise performed well in March, but quarterly changes in share prices ranged from modest gains in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials to double-digit net losses in the Japanese and […] More
February in Figures
March 1, 2016
In February, most 10-year sovereign debt yields fell significantly further. Short-term money market rates edged up in the United States but fell in the eurozone and Japan. The dollar rose against sterling but fell, especially relative to the yen, versus other currencies examined in this monthly feature. Equities for the most part lost further ground especially […] More
January in Figures
January 30, 2016
January 2016 was an extremely volatile month in world financial markets. Oil set the tone, with West Texas Intermediate crude plunging almost 31% in the first three weeks to a low of $26.19 before trimming that loss by more than half. Beyond mid-month, stock prices in the U.S. were headed for a record January dive. […] More
December and 2015 in Figures
January 4, 2016
Between the end of November and end of December, long-term interest rates rise in Switzerland, Germany, Britain and the United States but fell in Canada and Japan. Three-month rates adjusted almost fully to the first federal funds rate hike since 2006. The dollar fell against the euro, yen, Swissie and kiwi but advanced against loonie, […] More
October in Figures
November 1, 2015
In several countries during October, equities recorded the sharpest monthly gains in four years. Bond yields fell in Japan, Germany and the United States but rose in Britain. Short-term interest rates fell in the eurozone but were unchanged elsewhere. Crude oil and gold advanced about 5%. Naturally the dollar fell against commodity-sensitive currencies. But the […] More
September and the Third Quarter in Figures
October 1, 2015
The dollar and yen strengthened in September, while equities and commodities fell globally. Sovereign debt yields dropped sharply in the United States, Britain and Germany but only marginally in Japan, Canada, and Switzerland. The third quarter equity performance was the worst in several years, and WTI crude oil collapsed 24.2%. The dollar in 3Q advances sharply […] More
August in Review
September 1, 2015
A possible global bear market in equities took shape increasingly as August unfolded. Currency markets were dominated by the fall-out of the Chinese yuan devaluation, namely a decline of the dollar against the yen and euro and generally weak commodity-sensitive currencies. A significant rise of 16 basis points occurred in the 10-year German bund yield, […] More
July in Figures
August 1, 2015
In July, oil plunged slightly more than 20%, sovereign debt yields fell, the dollar strengthened, and equities were volatile. All the share price indices shown in the table below closed higher, except the Toronto exchange. But emerging market equities especially in China, had rough going during the months. Oil was not the only commodity to […] More
June and the Second Quarter in Figures
June 30, 2015
The dollar against currencies in the table below closed mixed both in June and for the second quarter. Long-term interest rates advanced pretty substantially, but short-term rates barely moved. Equities had a difficult month, recording the bulk of their declines in the final days of the month, but the performance in the whole quarter was […] More
