Bear Stearns index up 0.16% in most recent week, up 1.24% year to date

New York, Jan. 25 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index resumed its upward track for 2002 in the most recent week, rising 0.16% in the seven days ended Jan. 24 and lifting its year-to-date return to 1.24%. The previous week the index lost 0.46% after rising for the first two weeks of the year.

In the most recent period, the index tracked 1,427 issues, down from 1,439 the previous week. The total market value fell to $314.446 billion from $315.099 billion.

The index's yield to worst declined four basis points to 12.52% from 12.56% while the spread to worst contracted 16 basis points to 814 basis points from 830 basis points a week earlier.

Of the 11 broad industry groups making up the index, seven rose and four fell.

Among the gainers, transportation was top, as it was the week before, rising 0.99% for a year-to-date return of 3.43%.

That rise was also enough to make transportation the leading sector on a year-to-date basis, edging out technology, the previous leader, which is now up 3.34% this year.

Moving in the other direction, the weakest sector in the most recent seven days was utilities, which gave up 0.48% although their year-to-date return is still positive at 0.44%.

For the year through Thursday, the bottom placed sector is telecommunications. Despite a rise of 0.49% in the most recent week, the group is down 1.86% so far this year, the only one of the 11 in negative territory.

Looking at narrow industry sub-sectors, the week's strongest performer was broadband access and internet services, which rose 6.08%. The recovery helped make up for a sharp loss of 11.40% the week before and lifted it from last place year-to-date. That position is now held by convenience and drug retailers, which dropped 2.71% in the most recent week for a 14.58% loss so far this year, compared to an 11.65% loss for the broadband access sub-sector.

The year-to-date leader is satellites again, after adding another 0.27% to bring the total rise so far in 2002 to 16.18%.

Weakest of the sub-sectors in the most recent seven days was metals, which slipped 2.80% for a year to date return of 4.36%.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.