Market Narrowness Persists in First Quarter

Chart of the Week for April 7-13, 2000

Each quarter, we review performance of each stock in the S&P 500 Index to understand what’s driving the overall Index return. For the first quarter of 2000, the Index eked out a 2.0% price return (excluding dividends).

In 1999 as a whole, two-thirds of all S&P 500 stocks had returns that were lower than the Index’s return, meaning that high returns on a handful of stocks contributed the lion’s share of Index return. This divergence repeated in the first quarter, with 334 stocks (67%) underperforming the Index, even though returns appear visually to be more normally distributed. More than 60% of all stocks produced negative price return for the quarter.

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The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data illustrated. For performance data current to the most recent month end, contact ICMA-RC Services, LLC by calling 800-669-7400 or by writing to 777 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4240. Para asistencia en Español llame al 800-669-8216. Performance data current to the most recent quarter end is available by visiting www.icmarc.org.