Bear Stearns high yield index rises 0.35%, now down 5.43% year to date

New York, July 19 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index managed its second consecutive positive week, rising 0.35% in the seven days ended July 18 and cutting its year-to-date loss to 5.43%.

The previous week it rose 0.21%.

The two weeks of gains follow five straight weeks of losses which dragged the index firmly into negative territory after it had been mostly higher so far this year.

In the week just completed, six of the 11 industry sectors making up the index rose and five declined.

The best performer was telecommunications, which rose 8.34% although its year-to-date performance is negative 46.49%, by far the worst of any of the 11 groups.

The previous week's strongest sector, technology, placed second in the week to July 18, rising 1.48% for a negative 5.59% year-to-date return.

On a year-to-date basis, the best performer continues to be capital goods-manufacturing, up 7.81% after rising 0.06% in the week just gone. However consumer cyclicals is only just behind at 7.78% for the year through July 18 after rising 0.22% in the most recent week.

Moving down, utilities was the biggest loser for a second week, dropping 5.83% on the heels of a 1.43% decline the week before. This sector is now down 21.03% so far in 2002.

Finance also registered a big loss, falling 4.73%.

Among narrow sub-sectors, the top performer in the week to July 18 was ESMR & PCS, which rose 18.29%, cutting its year-to-date loss to 27.36%. Also strong was CLECs and other local carriers, which gained 13.17% and are now down 52.44% year to date.

Year to date the top performer remains diversified programmers, now up 30.99% after adding 0.28% in the most recent week.

The week's bottom-placed sector was insurance, which dropped 14.30%, taking its year-to-date performance into the red with a 1.02% loss.

On a year-to-date basis, long distance is worst, down 73.04% after giving up a further 2.71% in the week to July 18.

For the week, the index's yield to worst plunged 89 basis points to 13.09% from 13.98% seven days earlier and the yield-to-worst spread dropped back below 1,000 basis points, narrowing 87 basis points to 918 basis points from 1005 basis points.

Overall the index ended with a market value of $313.673 billion in 1,422 issues, both down from $315.868 billion in 1,440 issues a week earlier.

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