Bear Stearns High Yield Index gains 1.11% in week, 17.32% higher year to date

New York, June 13 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index showed another solid upward move in the week to June 12, adding a further 1.11%, extending its year-to-date gain to 17.32%.

The rise follows a 1.09% positive return the previous week and is the third in a row. Before that the index dipped 0.44% after a 13-week string of gains.

For a second week, all 11 of the industry sectors making up the index were in positive territory.

Leading the gains, as in the week before, was transportation with a 3.27% return, again in large part due to a big gain in its airlines component, which was up 5.02%, the best of any of the industry sub-sectors. The previous week transportation jumped 4.54% while airlines added 7.28%.

Year to date transportation is now up 20.46% while airlines are 30.96% higher.

However the utility sector remains in the number-one position so far in 2003 with a 40.00% total return after rising 1.78% in the most recent week.

Among the sub-sectors, long distance is now the best performer with a 60.13% return after rising 2.18% in the week to June 12. The previous leader, broadband and internet services, which made up a minuscule proportion of the whole index, has been dropped.

The weakest of the 11 broad sectors was technology but it still managed to move up 0.32%, taking its year-to-date return to 29.57%.

For 2003 so far, the smallest gain is in consumer non-cyclicals, up 6.46% after gaining 0.90% in the week just completed.

Among the sub-sectors, metals had the biggest decline, losing 0.42% for a year-to-date return of 3.46%.

Since Jan. 1, the weakest performance has been in textile and apparel, the only group in negative territory with a 0.29% loss after slipping 0.01% in the week just gone.

The index ended the week with a market value of $452.56 billion in 1,606 issues, both up from $435.55 billion in 1,603 issues the previous week.

The yield to worst fell 26 basis points to 9.17% from 9.43% the week before. The yield-to-worst spread dropped eight basis points to 700 basis points from 708 basis points.

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