Performance of 5 Major World Indices In CY13

The year 2013, among all adversities have been a better one for the equity markets worldwide. In this article we are looking at the performance of some of the major indices across the globe viz. Dow Jones Industrial Average, FTSE 100, DAX , Hang Seng, Nikkei 225 and Sensex.

Let us take a look at the performance of the indices one by one in a descending order as per the returns they have generated in the last calendar year.

Nikkei 225: The Nikkei 225 is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Currently, the Nikkei is the most widely quoted average of Japanese equities, similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average for US. In fact, it was known as the "Nikkei Dow Jones Stock Average" from 1975 to 1985. In the last calendar year Nikkei 225 has given a return of 46.26% and is one of the best performing indices in 2013.

DAX: The DAX is a blue chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra trading system. According to Deutsche Börse, the operator of Xetra, DAX measures the performance of the Prime Standard's 30 largest German companies in terms of order book volume and market capitalization. The index in the calendar year 2013 has provided a return of 22.84% to its investors.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow. The industrial average was first calculated on May 26, 1896. It is an index that shows how 30 large publicly owned companies based in the United States have traded during a standard trading session in the stock market. With the US economy witnessing some improvement, the Dow too performed well in the last calendar year. In CY 13, the index has given a return of 19.60% to its investors.

FTSE 100: The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization. It is one of the most widely used stock indices and is seen as a gauge of business prosperity for business regulated by UK company law. The index is maintained by the FTSE Group.

Sensex: The S&P BSE SENSEX is a free-float market-weighted stock market index of 30 companies which are some of the largest and most actively traded stocks, are representative of various industrial sectors of the Indian economy. In the last one year this index has given a return of 6.41%.

Hang Seng: The Hang Seng Index is a freefloat-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index in Hong Kong. It is used to record and monitor daily changes of the largest companies of the Hong Kong stock market and is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong. The 48 constituent companies of the index represents about 60% of capitalisation of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is the only index in our list that has remained in red. In CY13, the index has given a negative return of 1.78%.