Value Indexes and Russell 2000 Hit All-Time High
Newly launched Russell Global Index gains 1.1% for January
 February 1, 2007 — The first month of 2007 wrapped up yesterday with the small-cap Russell 2000® Index at an all-time high valuation. The index reflected a gain of 1.7% for January, adding to its 18.9% surge in 2006.
Meanwhile, the Russell Midcap® Index outperformed the small-cap benchmark for January with a 3.4% gain, primarily due to positive momentum in materials & processing (6.2%), autos & transportation (6.2%) and financial services (4.4%). All 12 mid-cap sectors reflected a positive month, while two energy-related sectors in the Russell 2000 lost value.
The U.S. equity market, as reflected by Russell's comprehensive family of 26 indexes, continued to show across-the-board strength in January as each index turned in a positive number for the month. The Russell Small Cap Completeness® Growth Index (4.1%) led all others for January, while the Russell Top 200® Value Index (0.62%) closed the month at the other end of the spectrum.
For those keeping score of the global equity market, the Russell Global Index reflected a gain of 1.1% for January, while the Russell Emerging Markets Index (-1.1%) was a drag on the global benchmark.
"Emerging markets actually rallied toward the end of January to recover from a 6% drop during the first 10 days of the month," said Mark Thurston, head of global equity research. "The fall came as investors seemed to reevaluate their risk tolerance when prices for commodities including oil and metals declined. Some worrisome political news such as plans in Venezuela to nationalize private companies also contributed to poor relative performance."
The performance gap between the large-cap Russell 1000® Growth Index and the large-cap Russell 1000® Value Index was about 1.3 percentage points, while the gap narrowed to 0.4 percentage points in the small-cap arena.
While momentum for value stocks slowed somewhat from the torrid pace in 2006, it was enough in January to push the Russell 3000® Value Index, the Russell 1000 Value Index and the Russell 2000® Value Index to end the month at their respective all-time high valuation.
In the Russell 1000® Index, 69% of the stocks turned in a positive return for January, including 18 stocks that increased more than 20% for the month. The top-performing stock-MEMC Electronic Materials (33.9%)-is in the technology sector. It was followed by RadioShack (31.7%) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (29.7%).
In the Russell 2000, only 52% of the stocks increased in value for the month, but 56 stocks surged more than 20%. The top three stocks in terms of performance are in the health care sector: Molecular Devices (66.7%), Telik (51.5%) and Hansen Medical (38.6%).
For additional performance figures on Russell's indexes and the user-friendly Russell index returns calculator, please visit: www.russell.com/Indexes.
| RUSSELL INDEXES TOTAL RETURNS (%) |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
January |
|
2007 |
| Russell 3000® Index |
|
1.90% |
|
15.72% |
| Russell 1000® Index |
|
1.93% |
|
15.46% |
| Russell 2000® Index |
|
1.67% |
|
18.37% |
| Russell 2500™ Index |
|
2.70% |
|
16.17% |
| Russell Midcap® Index |
|
3.38% |
|
15.26% |
| Russell Top 200® Index |
|
1.35% |
|
15.53% |
| Russell Top 50® Index |
|
0.77% |
|
18.21% |
| Russell Microcap™ Index |
|
1.28% |
|
16.54% |
| Russell 3000® Value Index |
|
1.30% |
|
22.34% |
| Russell 3000® Growth Index |
|
2.51% |
|
9.46% |
| Russell 1000® Value Index |
|
1.28% |
|
22.25% |
| Russell 1000® Growth Index |
|
2.57% |
|
9.07% |
| Russell 2000® Value Index |
|
1.50% |
|
23.48% |
| Russell 2000® Growth Index |
|
1.86% |
|
13.35% |
| Russell 2500™ Value Index |
|
2.23% |
|
20.18% |
| Russell 2500™ Growth Index |
|
3.18% |
|
12.26% |
| Russell Midcap® Value Index |
|
3.08% |
|
20.22% |
| Russell Midcap® Growth Index |
|
3.64% |
|
10.66% |
| Russell Top 200® Value Index |
|
0.62% |
|
22.99% |
| Russell Top 200® Growth Index |
|
2.10% |
|
8.56% |
| RUSSELL GLOBAL INDEXES TOTAL RETURNS (%) |
|
|
| |
|
January |
| Russell Global Index |
|
1.1% |
| Russell Global Large Cap Index |
|
1.1% |
| Russell Global Small Cap Index |
|
1.5% |
| Russell Global ex-US Index |
|
0.5% |
| Russell Global ex-US Large Cap Index |
|
0.4% |
| Russell Global ex-US Small Cap Index |
|
1.4% |
| Russell Developed Index |
|
1.3% |
| Russell Emerging Markets Index |
|
-1.1% |
January 2007
SECTOR PERFORMANCE |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Russell Midcap |
|
Russell 3000 |
| Technology |
|
1.7% |
|
1.5% |
| Health Care |
|
3.6% |
|
3.3% |
| Consumer Discretionary & Services |
|
3.6% |
|
3.3% |
| Consumer Staples |
|
2.2% |
|
1.8% |
| Integrated Oils |
|
4.0% |
|
-3.3% |
| Other Energy |
|
2.1% |
|
1.8% |
| Materials & Processing |
|
6.2% |
|
-3.3% |
| Producer Durables |
|
2.5% |
|
2.9% |
| Autos & Transportation |
|
6.2% |
|
4.5% |
| Financial Services |
|
4.4% |
|
1.3% |
| Utilities |
|
0.8% |
|
1.9% |
About Russell: Russell Investment Group, a global leader in multi-manager investing, provides investment products and services in 44 countries. Russell manages more than $195 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing more than $2.4 trillion. Founded in 1936, Russell is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Sydney, Singapore, Auckland and Tokyo.
Russell employs its indexes to objectively evaluate investment managers for multi-manager funds and other investment services. More than $3.8 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the industry-leading Russell indexes.
Contacts:
Steve Claiborne, 253-439-1858
Russell Investment Group, a Washington, USA corporation, operates through subsidiaries worldwide. Russell Investment Group is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Russell Investment Group is the owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to its indexes.
Russell's indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.
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