SEATTLE, WA — (Marketwire) — 01/11/13 — Throughout the fourth quarter 2012 corporate earnings reporting session, the Health Care sector has led other sectors in the U.S. large-cap stocks, as reflected by the Russell 1000® Index, and U.S. small cap stocks, as reflected by the Russell 2000® Index, as of January 9th.
The Russell 1000® Index of large-cap U.S. stocks has returned +2.6% year-to-date as of January 9th. Within the Index, the Health Care sector has led with a +4.1% return year-to-date, followed by the Financial Services (+3.5%) and Materials & Processing (+3.4%) sectors for the same period.
The Russell 2000® Index of small-cap U.S. stocks has returned +3.6% year-to-date as of January 9th. Within the Index, the Health Care sector has returned +6.0%, followed by the Materials & Processing (+3.8%), Producer Durables (+3.7%) and Financial Services (+3.7%) sectors for the same period.
And the Russell 2000® Index and the Russell 1000® Index Health Care sector reached all-time high values in terms of total return on January 9, 2013.
“While we do not expect the US to lapse into recession in 2013 — we appear to be in a reluctant and mixed recovery, and the diversity of sector returns in a strong market year-to-date suggest that not all boats will rise. A maturing earnings cycle and a challenging revenue environment leads us to recognize that not all balance sheets are created equal and not every company is poised to out-perform,” said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist for Russell Investments. “In this environment, actively managed Multi Asset strategies and security selection may prove critical.”
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