Morningstar Indexes: Weekly Market Report

Markets experienced their biggest slide in recent years last week as investors became more attuned to global macroeconomic risks. The Morningstar US Market Index was down 4.5% for the week ending March 2. The main damage was done Feb. 27, when Chinese authorities announced steps to curb stock market speculation, causing that market to plummet. Investors remained downbeat through the week due to more bad news about the U.S. subprime mortgage lending market and the prospect that rising interest rates in Japan would shut off a cheap source of funds.

All nine Morningstar style indexes finished deep in the red. The Morningstar Mid Value Index held up best with its 3.7% loss, and the Morningstar Small Growth Index's 6.7% decline was the steepest.

Temple-Inland TIN, a holding company with multiple businesses including packaging and real estate, contributed strongly to the Morningstar Mid Value Index. The stock appreciated 7.5% after its announcement of a three-way split, which investors felt would unlock its value. AMR AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, detracted from the Morningstar Mid Value Index after posting a decline in traffic in its latest report.

Morningstar Small Growth Index components Immucor BLUD and Medarex MEDX, both makers of specialty drugs and compounds, suffered double-digit losses, contributing to a sharp reversal in the index's strong performance in prior weeks.