The following data was contained in an online article written by Weston Wellington, Vice President of Dimensional Fund Advisors in the US. I agree with his comments that we should not "bet" on this being the beginning of a recovery on share markets. He is not in any way suggesting that this is the start of the next bull market rally but suggests it does provide another reminder of the risks involved with sitting out of the market. His commentary:
"The sharp rally in stock prices over the last thirty days may or may not be the beginning of a new bull market. A number of analysts and market technicians have dismissed the surge in prices as too much too soon, and expect the downturn to resume in the near future.
They may well be right. On the other hand, even if this current rally ultimately fizzles out, it offers a preview of what the real thing might look like?a powerful upsurge against a backdrop of very discouraging news that leaves many analysts scratching their heads and market timers watching in frustration as they seek to identify the right time to go back in the water."
|
| |
March Low |
March Low ($) |
April 9 Close |
Change |
| Bank of America (BAC) |
3/6/2009 |
3.00 |
9.55 |
218.33% |
| Citigroup (C) |
3/5/2009 |
1.02 |
3.04 |
198.04% |
| Wells Fargo (WFC) |
3/5/2009 |
8.12 |
19.61 |
141.50% |
| Harley-Davidson (HOG) |
3/9/2009 |
8.20 |
18.02 |
119.76% |
| JP Morgan Chase (JPM) |
3/9/2009 |
15.90 |
32.75 |
105.97% |
| KBW Bank Index |
3/6/2009 |
17.73 |
33.81 |
90.69% |
| American Express (AXP) |
3/6/2009 |
10.26 |
18.83 |
83.53% |
| JC Penney (JCP) |
3/9/2009 |
14.18 |
25.42 |
79.27% |
| General Electric (GE) |
3/5/2009 |
6.66 |
11.33 |
70.12% |
| Goldman Sachs (GS) |
3/9/2009 |
73.95 |
124.33 |
68.13% |
| DFA US Small Cap Value Portfolio (DFSVX) |
3/9/2009 |
9.61 |
13.93 |
44.95% |
| DFA US Micro Cap Portfolio (DFSCX) |
3/9/2009 |
5.55 |
7.73 |
39.28% |
| DFA US Large Cap Value Portfolio (DFLVX) |
3/9/2009 |
8.94 |
12.37 |
38.37% |
| Russell 2000 Index |
3/9/2009 |
343.26 |
468.20 |
36.40% |
| DFA Emerging Markets Portfolio (DFEMX) |
3/9/2009 |
13.38 |
17.85 |
33.41% |
| Nasdaq Composite Index |
3/9/2009 |
1268.64 |
1652.54 |
30.26% |
| S&P 500 Index |
3/9/2009 |
676.53 |
856.56 |
26.61% |
| DFA Large Cap Intl. Portfolio (DFALX) |
3/9/2009 |
10.84 |
13.56 |
25.09% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average |
3/9/2009 |
6547.05 |
8083.38 |
23.47% |
In US dollars. Source: Yahoo! Inc, Yahoo! Finance, in http://finance.yahoo.com, accessed April 9, 2009. KBW data provided by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. Russell data copyright © Russell Investment Group 1995-2009, all rights reserved. The S&P and Nasdaq data are provided by Standard & Poor's Index Services Group. Dow Jones data provided by Dow Jones Indexes.
