Bear Stearns index rises 0.22% in most recent week, year-to-date gain 3.55%

New York, April 26 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index rose again, adding 0.22% in the most recent week for the eighth positive performance out of the past nine weeks.

The only break in the recent upward path was three weeks ago when Adelphia Communications Corp.'s difficulties helped pull down the index to a 0.12% loss.

The year-to-date total return for the index is now 3.55%.

During the week to April 25, the index's yield to worst held steady at 11.57%, unchanged from the previous week, while its spread to worst rose 12 basis points to 716 basis points from 704 basis points seven days earlier.

In total the index included 1,410 issues with a market value of $318.588 billion, both up from 1,407 issues with a market value of $317.007 billion the previous week.

Seven of the index's 11 broad sectors recorded gains in the week to April 25.

Top performer was utilities, which rose 1.70%, more than undoing the previous week's decline when it was the only sector to drop with a return of negative 1.11%. Year to date utilities is now up 0.57%.

Transportation continued as the number-one group so far this year, adding another 0.51% for a year-to-date return of 10.66%.

The previous week's best performer, telecommunications, dropped back 0.16% in the most recent week, ensuring it held on to its position as the worst performing sector year to date with a 13.71% loss and, with utilities' return from being in the red, the only one of the 11 to be under water so far this year.

However the week's worst performer was media which gave up 0.52%, cutting its year-to-date return to 1.33%.

By narrow industry sub-sector, the leader was long-distance, a component of telecommunications. This group gained 4.13% although its 27.20% loss so far this year means it remains the worst performer.

Moving down, another telecommunications component, CLECs was the worst performing sub-sector, dropping 4.32% in the most recent week for a year-to-date loss of 25.77%.

The best performing sub-sector year to date is the textile and apparel group, up 19.93% on the back of a gain of 1.64% in the most recent week. That rise put it ahead of satellites which has been on top for much of the year. Satellites added 0.58% in the week to April 25, making its return so far this year 19.55%.

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