COMMENTARY
A lackluster week in the financial markets. Prices meandered aimlessly in light
volume, with many traders absenting themselves because of holidays. The biggest
move of the week came on Dec. 29, when the Dow Jones industrial average fell 23
points. Computer-driven program trading contributed to the decline, as did poor
showings by IBM and 3M. Be-cause of the IBM debacle, computer makers now lead
the list of worst-performing stock issues over the past month.
All data on this page are as of market close Tuesday, Dec. 29, 1992, unless
otherwise indicated. Industry groups include S&P 500 companies only;
performance and share prices are as of market close Dec. 28. Mutual fund
returns are as of Dec. 25. Relative portfolios are valued as of Dec. 28. A more
detailed explanation of this page is available on request.
Market Analysis
% change
U.S. STOCKS Latest Week 52-week
DOW JONES INDUSTRIALS 3310.8 -0.3 4.6
MIDSIZE COMPANIES (S&P MidCap Index) 158.8 0.9 8.9
SMALL COMPANIES (Russell 2000) 216.9 1.0 15.4
ALL COMPANIES (Russell 3000) 250.1 -0.2 7.3
% change (local currency)
FOREIGN STOCKS Latest Week 52-week
LONDON (FINANCIAL TIMES 100) 2847.8 0.2 17.7
TOKYO (NIKKEI INDEX) 17,285.6 -2.3 -24.8
TORONTO (TSE COMPOSITE) 3314.9 0.0 -5.4
FUNDAMENTALS Latest Week ago Year ago
90-DAY TREASURY BILL YIELD 3.25% 3.27% 3.96%
30-YEAR TREASURY BOND YIELD 7.36% 7.34% 7.45%
S&P 500 DIVIDEND YIELD 2.82% 2.81% 3.02%
S&P 500 PRICE/EARNINGS RATIO 24.3 24.5 23.2
TECHNICAL INDICATORS Latest Week ago Reading
S&P 500 26-week moving average 420.3 419.0 Positive
Stocks above 26-week moving average 58.9% 58.7% Negative
Speculative sentiment: Put/call ratio 0.35 0.36 Neutral
Insider sentiment: Vickers sell/buy ratio 2.56 2.56 Negative
Industry Groups
% change
FOUR-WEEK LEADERS 4-week 52-week
1 MANUFACTURED HOUSING 13.7 44.9
2 SEMICONDUCTORS 11.7 69.8
3 LIFE INSURANCE 10.6 36.8
4 AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE 10.5 4.3
5 BROADCASTING 9.2 29.5
Strongest stock % change
FOUR-WEEK LEADERS in group 4-week 52-week Price
1 MANUFACTURED HOUSING SKYLINE 19.9 42.0 21 1/8
2 SEMICONDUCTORS INTEL 27.3 90.3 90 3/8
3 LIFE INSURANCE JEFFERSON-PILOT 21.1 32.3 49 1/2
4 AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE NORTHROP 20.0 39.4 34 1/2
5 BROADCASTING CAPITAL CITIES/ABC 15.1 24.3 515 3/4
% change
FOUR-WEEK LAGGARDS 4-week 52-week
1 COMPUTER SYSTEMS -10.7 -28.2
2 ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION -8.4 -2.9
3 COMMERCIAL SERVICES -6.8 0.4
4 TOYS -6.0 24.7
5 OIL WELL EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES -5.7 -4.7
Weakest stock % change
FOUR-WEEK LAGGARDS in group 4-week 52-week Price
1 COMPUTER SYSTEMS IBM -21.6 -42.1 51 3/4
2 ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION FLUOR -10.5 -2.9 41 3/8
3 COMMERCIAL SERVICES SAFETY-KLEEN -22.4 -3.5 23 7/8
4 TOYS MATTEL - 6.6 19.3 24 7/8
5 OIL WELL EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES SCHLUMBERGER - 8.2 -9.9 55 5/8
Source: BRIDGE INFORMATION SYSTEMS INC.
Mutual Funds
LEADERS LAGGARDS
Four-week total return % Four-week total return %
1 PBHG GROWTH 15.1 EQUITY STRATEGIES -5.6
2 COPLEY 12.1 FIDELITY SELECT ENERGY SERVICE -5.1
3 DFA UNITED KINGDOM
SMALL COMPANY 11.8 QUEST FOR VALUE GLOBAL EQUITY -5.1
LEADERS LAGGARDS
52-week total return % 52-week total return %
1 FIDELITY SELECT
SAVINGS & LOAN 60.7 LEXINGTON STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS -59.3
2 OAKMARK 53.5 UNITED SERVICES GOLD SHARES -51.2
3 FIDELITY SELECT
REGIONAL BANKS 49.7 MONITREND GOLD -27.6
Source: MORNINGSTAR INC.
Relative Portfolios
Dollar amounts Treasury bonds U.S. stocks Money market fund
represent the present $11,021 $10,897 $10,286
value of $10,000
invested one year ago
in each portfolio
Percentages indicate +0.32% -0.48% +0.05%
five-day total returns
Dollar amounts Gold Foreign stocks
represent the present $9,484 $9,274
value of $10,000
invested one year ago
in each portfolio
Percentages indicate -1.48% -1.20%
five-day total returns
Source: DATA RESOURCES INC.