Morningstar Indexes: Weekly Market Report

Continued macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical concerns took their toll on markets last week. The Morningstar US Market Index fell 1% for the week ending March 30. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned about an increase in negative signs in the U.S. economic outlook at a time when inflation also remains uncomfortably high. Markets also fretted over a sharp rise in oil prices, due to heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf region.

All nine Morningstar style indexes finished in the red, though the Morningstar Large Value Index held up significantly better than the rest with just a 0.5% loss. The Morningstar Large Growth Index caught the worst end of a bad week, losing 1.41%.

Turmoil in subprime mortgage lending continued to cast a pall over financial stocks, knocking back large-value stalwarts such as Wachovia WB and Bank of America BAC. The Morningstar Large Value Index got a sizable boost from energy and utility stocks, however. Devon Energy DVN, Occidental Petroleum OXY, and power generator Public Service Enterprise Group PEG were among stocks posting healthy gains.

Prominent growth sectors such as technology and health care had a difficult week, contributing to the skid in large-growth stocks. UnitedHealth Group UNH dropped 6.21% following analyst downgrades. Cisco Systems' CSCO 2.52% loss also featured prominently in the Morningstar Large Growth Index's performance.