Bear Stearns index rises 0.07% in most recent week, year-to-date gain 3.63%

New York, May 3 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index managed to eke out a third consecutive week of gains, but rose just 0.07% in the seven days to May 2.

However, the performance was still positive, meaning the index has risen for nine out of the past 10 weeks, the gap being four weeks ago when Adelphia Communications Corp.'s difficulties helped pull down the index to a 0.12% loss.

Year to date, the index has now returned 3.63%.

During the week to May 2, the index's yield to worst contracted six basis points to 11.51% from 11.57% while the spread to worst came in nine basis points to 707 basis points from 716 basis points.

In total, the index included 1,411 issues with a market value of $319.040 billion, up from 1,410 issues with a market value of $318.588 billion a week earlier.

Seven of the index's 11 broad industry sectors achieved gains in the most recent week.

The top performer was capital goods-manufacturing which returned 0.68% for a year-to-date rise of 8.95%. However transportation remains the leading sector for the year through May 2 with a gain of 0.13% in the most recent week taking its return to 10.81%.

Utilities, the number one sector the previous week with a 1.70% rise, reversed course and came in last in the most recent week with a 1.65%. This group is now down 1.08% year to date.

However the bottom performer on a year-to-date basis continues to be telecommunications, which is down 14.74% after losing a further 1.20% in the most recent week.

Among narrow industry sub-sectors, convenience and drug retailers was the top performer, returning 1.40% in the week for a total of 2.43% year to date.

So far this year, the performer continues to be the textile and apparel sub-sector which gained another 1.22% for a return of 21.38% for 2002 through May 2.

The worst performing sub-sector was CLECs, which dropped 9.70% in just one week. And that loss came on the heels of a 4.32% decline the week before. With the most recent loss, CLECs took from long-distance the title of bottom performer for the year to date with a 32.97% fall.

© 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.