Article source: ConstructConnect
During March just passed, the DJI 30 index moved +1.9%; the S&P 500, +3.5%; and NASDAQ, +6.7%. The TSX stayed more or less flat, -0.6%. Only the Russell 2000, which reflects equity price movements for the 2,000 smallest publicly traded companies, was hesitant about putting a brighter face on things, backtracking -5.0% (Table 1).
A similar pattern was evident internationally (Table 2). While London’s FTSE was -3.1% month to month, the German DAX 30 was +1.7%; Tokyo’s Nikkei, +2.2%; and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, +3.1%. STOXX Europe stayed essentially level, at -0.7%.
Germany’s DAX led all indices globally on a year-over-year basis in the latest month, +8.4%. New factory orders in Germany came in considerably stronger in February than had been expected. They were +4.8% versus January. Moreover, they marked three consecutive months of forward motion.
Furthermore, Europe’s biggest economy has managed, so far, to navigate its energy shortage crisis with surprising dexterity, finding alternative sources of natural gas (e.g., from nations in Africa, plus LNG from the U.S.) to substantially (50%) replace what was previously being shipped from Russia.
