Here's a weekend snapshot of major world indexes. The table at right shows the performance over the past week.
The Nikkei 225 was the superstar performer in the first week of 2011, up 3.05% with the Hang Seng close behind, up 3.83%. All the markets were off to a positive start except for the Bombay SENSEX, which plunged nearly 4%.
The chart below illustrates the comparative performance of World Markets since March 9, 2009. The start date is arbitrary: The S&P 500 and Bombay SENSEX hit their lows on March 9th, the Nikkei 225 on March 10th, the DAX on March 6th, the FTSE on March 3rd, the Shanghai Composite on November 4, 2008, and the Hang Seng even earlier on October 27, 2008. However, by aligning on the same day, we get a better sense of the present-day degree of market correlation than if we align the lows.
A Longer Look Back
Here is the same chart starting from the turn of 21st century. The relative over-performance of the emerging markets is readily apparent.
