The Decoupling Continues -- In Reverse

Below we highlight the year to date returns of the major equity indices for a number of key countries. Using prices from this morning, the United States' S&P 500 and Dow 30 are down much less than the rest of the countries analyzed. China is down 27.7%, India is down 24.6%, Hong Kong is down 24% and Germany is down 21.7%. Leading up to the peak in global equity markets last year, many people thought that countries were finally strong enough to decouple from the US and perform well even if the US went down the tubes. These days, however, the US is the one doing the decoupling on the upside.