(Bloomberg News) Stocks, bonds and commodities posted monthly declines for the first time since the end of the financial crisis in February 2009, dragged down by concern Greece will default and signs economies are slowing.
The MSCI All-Country World Index of shares in 45 countries dropped 1.5 percent in June, including dividends, spurring the first quarterly loss in a year. Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Global Broad Market Corporate Index slumped 0.65 percent, while the firm's benchmark gauge of U.S. Treasuries fell 0.31 percent. The Standard & Poor's GSCI Total Return Index of 24 commodities declined 5.3 percent, also prompting the first three-month slump since the period ended June 30, 2010.
While Greece's approval of budget cuts and tax increases this week required to win bailout funds drove the biggest four- day rally in the MSCI index since December, it failed to erase June's equity losses. Riskier assets fell last month as U.S. economic reports missed projections by the most since January 2009, according to data compiled by New York-based Citigroup Inc. using Bloomberg surveys.
"Investors were on the edge," said David Goerz, the San Francisco-based chief investment officer at Highmark Capital Management Inc., which oversees $17.2 billion. "The No. 1 thing that the market focused on was the slowdown in economic activity. The sovereign debt crisis also got people worried. We're probably not at the end of it yet, but we got some temporary solution to the Greek crisis."
Quarter, Year
Commodities led declines today after China's Purchasing Managers' Index, a gauge of the nation's manufacturing, dropped to the lowest level since February 2009. The MSCI All-Country World Index and Treasuries were little changed.
IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against currencies from six major U.S. trading partners, dropped 0.3 percent to 74.404 in June. The U.S. currency slumped in the final four days, erasing a monthly gain as the euro rallied against most major currencies. The Dollar Index rose 0.2 percent at 9:42 a.m. in London today.
Equities and raw materials slid in June after rallying since the first quarter of 2009. The S&P commodity index climbed as much as 85 percent from Feb. 18, 2009, peaking on April 8. It retreated 1.1 percent today.
The MSCI gauge gained 119 percent between March 9, 2009, and May 2, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The global economy may grow 4.3 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2012, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund said June 17.
Austerity Plan