Bear Stearns High Yield Index drops 1.41% in latest week, down 7.11% year to date

New York, Sept. 27 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index dropped 1.41% in the week to Sept. 26, its second consecutive loss after a 0.56% decline the previous week that ended four straight weeks of gains.

The index is now down 7.11% so far this year.

All 11 industry sectors making up the index fell in the week just completed.

Worst was the utility sector, which gave up 4.26% and is now down 24.50% so far in 2002. Also showing significant weakness was transportation, which fell 3.73%, and the previous week's bottom performer, technology, which fell 3.48%.

Year-to-date telecommunications continues as the bottom sector, down 46.61% after losing a further 1.51% in the most recent week.

The best - or least worst performer - for the week to Sept. 26 was energy, which slipped 0.06% but is still up 4.28% so far this year.

Meanwhile consumer cyclicals continues to show the best performance since Jan. 1, returning 7.29% after losing 0.92% in the most recent week.

By narrow sub-sector, the worst performer in the week to Sept. 26 was equipment rental, which lost 6.89% and is now down 9.40% year to date. (The broad utilities sector is not divided into components.)

On a year-to-date basis, the weakest sub-sector is still long distance, down 74.13% after falling 0.88% deeper into the red in the most recent week.

The week's best performing sub-sector was supermarkets and distributors, which gained 1.53% and is now down 6.61% so far in 2002.

For the year-to-date the best performer continues to be diversified programmers, up 34.81% after gaining 0.13% in the most recent week.

For the week, the index's yield to worst rose 36 basis points to 13.79% from 13.43% seven days earlier. The yield-to-worst spread widened 37 basis points to 1,076 basis points compared to 1,039 basis points the week before.

Overall the index ended with a market value of $309.191 billion in 1,437 issues, less value but more issues than $311.358 billion in 1,430 issues a week earlier.

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