This global equity snapshot by Bloomberg’s Michael McDonough is a great way to step back from all the crazy market gyrations and give your stomach a break (hat tip Felix Salmon). I’m not saying the daily churn is going away (in fact, I think just the opposite). But in the grand scheme of things, our stock markets are still faring better than the rest of the world. Take a look:
The 52-week lines on the right show that stock exchanges just about everywhere else in the world are worse off than they were a year ago (look at the red dots to the right of the lines, which indicate the lows). Then look at the North American indexes, the handful up at the top. With all our lows (again, the red dots) falling way to the left, we’re still the best game in town.
The other clear takeaway is that Europe, not the U.S., is what’s really rocking the global boat. If you look at the column “change from the 52-week high”, the European indexes (in pink) are the ones spiraling into the ground. Now, this is no cause for celebration. Market fear is clearly gripping the entire globe, even though on a relative basis we’re in better shape. And if what’s happening in Europe gets even worse, the graphic suggests that we’ll all be feeling the heat.