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A Comparison of Global Stocks Shows Unusual Divergences

John Murphy

John Murphy

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

While U.S. stocks are starting to struggle on fears of high valuation, some money is starting to flow into foreign stocks that show better value. The chart below shows the S&P 500 doing better than foreign developed and emerging markets since the October 2011 bottom. During that time span, the S&P 500 (representing the U.S.) gained 65% versus a 54% gain in the EAFE Index (representing developed markets in Europe, Australasia and the Far East). The worst performer by far have been Emerging Market iShares which gained only 28%. Given the historic tendencies for global stocks to be more highly correlated, the unusual disparity between global markets is likely to correct itself. That process may have already started. During the first four and half months of 2014, emerging markets have been the strongest performers and the U.S. the weakest. The EEM has gained 2.7% versus 2% for the EAFA and 1.6% for the SPX. Expectations for more aggressive easing in the eurozone (which might eventually include quantitative easing) should provide a tailwind for European equities -- at the same time that the Fed is winding down its bond buying program. My main interest today, however, is emerging markets. Not only are they starting to show better relative performance, but their chart patterns look more promising.


Chart 1

Take care,
John

(P.S. Click here for a bonus article from John from last Wednesday.)

John Murphy
About the author: is the Chief Technical Analyst at StockCharts.com, a renowned author in the investment field and a former technical analyst for CNBC, and is considered the father of inter-market technical analysis. With over 40 years of market experience, he is the author of numerous popular works including “Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets” and “Trading with Intermarket Analysis”. Before joining StockCharts, John was the technical analyst for CNBC-TV for seven years on the popular show Tech Talk, and has authored three best-selling books on the subject: Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, Trading with Intermarket Analysis and The Visual Investor. Learn More