New York Times (January 9)
“Saudi Arabia is throwing open its doors to global investors.” From February, all overseas investors “will be allowed to buy and sell shares directly in 262 listed companies.” The question is whether they will want to. “The Tadawul All Share Index is down over the past year, vastly underperforming both the S&P 500 and major global stock indexes.” It is “the Gulf region’s biggest and worst-performing stock exchange,”
Tags: Buy, Global investors, Gulf region, Index, Overseas investors, S&P 500, Saudi Arabia, Sell, Shares, Stock exchange, Tadawul, Underperforming, Worst-performing
Barron’s (December 30)
“Home prices rose more quickly than expected in October, according to S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index data released today. But the bigger picture shows that housing costs continue to improve, with forecasters expecting a pickup in sales in 2026.”
Tags: 2026, Forecasters, Home prices, Housing costs, Improve, Index, October, Pickup, Rose, S&P Cotality Case-Shiller
The Economist (December 11)
“Since America elected Donald Trump as president on November 5th, the value of its listed firms has increased by $4.2trn, more than the entire worth of London’s stockmarket. The S&P 500 is up by nearly 30% this year. At 23 times its forward earnings, the index has rarely been so highly rated by investors.”
Tags: $4.2trn, 23x, Forward earnings, Index, Investors, Listed firms, London, President, S&P 500, Stockmarket, Trump, U.S., Value
Reuters (September 28)
“Treasury yields and the dollar fell while the Dow registered a record closing high on Friday as a subdued U.S. inflation report lifted expectations of an outsized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting.” On top of that, “a global stock index also reached a record high, helped by China’s stimulus boost, and European shares posted an all-time high close.”
Tags: China, Dollar, Dow, Europe, Expectations, Fed, Global stock, High, Index, Inflation, Interest rate, Policy meeting, Record, Stimulus, U.S., Yields
New York Times (June 14)
“Bigger is better in the stock market these days.” In the S&P 500, the largest group of 50 companies by market cap, was the only group “to have positive returns over the 12 months through June 7” while the group of the 50 “smallest stocks in the index had the biggest losses.” Similarly, the S&P100, which features the largest constituents, “is up more than 17 percent” during 2024, while “the Russell 2000, which tracks the small-cap universe, is up less than 1 percent for the year.”
Tags: 2024, Constituents, Index, Largest, Market cap, Positive returns, Russell 2000, S&P 500, S&P100, Small-cap universe, Stock market
Financial Times (February 22)
“The benchmark Nikkei 225 index finally broke through its “iron coffin lid” to surpass its long-standing record 1989 closing price of 38,915 points, which was set when 15 of the world’s largest companies by market cap were Japanese. “The Nikkei has risen 16.6 per cent since the start of the year, making it the world’s best-performing major index, as a falling yen lures foreign investors” and strengthens the performance of exporters.”
Tags: 1989, 38, 915 points, Benchmark, Best-performing, Falling yen, Foreign investors, Index, Japan, Market-cap, Nikkei 225, Performance, Record, Surpass
Wall Street Journal (March 25)
The aggregate M-Score index, which measures manipulation across corporate America “shows that the collective probability of fraud across major companies is the highest in over 40 years,” possibly foreshadowing economic downturn. “The theory is that their index might be catching distress in the stages when some companies are taking steps to try to cover it up…. The stock market might behave like the corporate sector is still humming along when in reality, its earnings are increasingly buoyed by tricks.”
Tags: Aggregate, Distress, Earnings, Economic downturn, Fraud, Highest, Index, M-Score, Major companies, Manipulation, Stock market
Barron’s (April 11)
“The stocks that have performed best over the past few years have seen a turn in fortune, while some of the worst performers are enjoying gains.” Of the 20 best-performing stocks in the Russell 1000 index between 2016 and 2021, “just three have seen gains in 2022” and on average the 20 stocks have “lost 22% so far this year.” At the other end of the spectrum, of the 20 worst-performers, “a majority—11—have gained this year.”
Tags: Best performers, Fortune, Gains, Index, Russell 1000, Stocks, Worst performers
Institutional Investor (April 3)
“Hedge funds are in danger of losing a battle with low-cost exchange-traded funds.” According to a recent study comparing hedge funds with similar ETFs, “The results were mostly bad news for hedge funds. Two of the largest ETFs in each sector outperformed their respective hedge fund index counterparts. Hedge funds did, however, provide a smoother ride for investors.”
Tags: Danger, ETFs, Hedge funds, Index, Investors, Losing battle, Results, Sector
Wall Street Journal (November 5)
“A wave of stock-picking firms are stepping up their fight against cheap exchange-traded and index funds with new offerings that dial back fees if they can’t beat the market.”
