Despite concerns about the global economy, the world equity markets advanced in the third quarter, extending their rally since the March 9, 2009 low. The U.S. stock market, as represented by the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 equity indices, gained 15.6% and 16.3%, respectively, for the quarter. Year-to-date, the two indices are up 19.3% and 21.2%, respectively. The S&P 500’s combined return for the second and third quarter represented the best back-to-back quarterly performance for the index since 1975, and the index has registered a cumulative 56.3% gain since March 9. International stocks remained well ahead of U.S. stocks. The MSCI All Country World ex-US Index advanced 19.7% for the quarter and 36.4% year-to-date. Stocks in developing countries, as represented by the MSCI Emerging Market Index, posted another solid quarterly gain (+20.9%) and are now ahead 64.5% year-to-date, continuing their trend of outpacing the stocks of companies in developed countries.
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