Emerging Equity Markets Continue to Outshine Developed Markets

Emerging equity markets rose 4.53% for the month versus a 2.02% loss for developed equity markets, according to an S&P press release. For the 12-month period ending in July, emerging markets returned a 53.94% gain, more than double the developed markets gain of 21.52%.

“U.S. concerns over liquidity, housing and fixed income instruments related to housing were the chief reasons for the downturn in the markets, while globally, the events were regarded solely as a U.S. issue,” said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at Standard & Poor’s, in the release.

Only 12 of the 27 developed markets posted positive returns in July. Double-digit gains were posted by South Korea (+11.56%) and Slovenia (+10.42%). The top three markets by weight, Japan, United Kingdom and United States posted losses of 0.26%, 2.20% and 3.41%, respectively.

In July, 10 of the 25 emerging markets finished in positive territory, with Thailand (+14.17%), Turkey (+13.62%) and China (+14.47%) topping the list. Negative returns were posted for Mexico (-3.44%), the Philippines (-3.33%) and Pakistan (-3.25%).

Eight of the 10 sectors posted losses for the month, including Financials with a 4.27% decline. Materials (+1.12%) and Industrials (+0.96%) were the only sectors to post gains.

The S&P/Citigroup World by Numbers Report for July can be accessed by visiting www.standardandpoors.com/indices.