Bear Stearns high yield index drops 0.90% in week, down 8.47% year to date

New York, Aug. 9 - The Bear Stearns High Yield Index continued its recent gyrations, dropping 0.90% in the week to Aug. 8 after rising 0.68% the week before and plunging 3.00% the week before that.

Year to date the index is now down 8.47%.

The weakest of the 11 sectors making up the index was utilities, which dropped 3.77% in the week, taking the sector's year-to-date return down to negative 28.05%. Utilities had been the top performer the week before, rising 8.95%, although they were in last place the week before that with a 13.10% fall.

Transportation, the previous week's worst performer, was second bottom in the most recent week, losing a further 3.40% on top of its 0.62% decline in the previous seven days.

However telecommunications remains in last place for the year so far, having lost 51.09% after a 2.49% decline in the week just completed.

Top performer in the most recent week - and the only one of the 11 sectors to record a positive performance - was basic materials which edged up 0.08% for a year-to-date return of 3.09%.

For 2002 through Aug. 8 the best sector continues to be consumer cyclicals which are up 6.53% despite slipping 0.29% in the week just gone.

Among narrow industry sub-sectors, insurance was the week's worst group, falling 7.95% and taking the industry into negative territory year-to-date with a return of -7.33%.

For the year so far, long distance remains bottom, posting a total return of negative 75.07% after dropping 2.62% in the most recent week.

Moving in the other direction, the top performer in the week to Aug. 8 was broadband access and internet services which rose 1.62% although this group is still down 31.69% year to date.

Diversified programmers remain number one for the year so far, adding 0.31% in the week to Aug. 8 for a year-to-date return of 32.09%.

For the week, the index's yield to worst rose 24 basis points to 14.23% from 13.99% seven days earlier and the yield-to-worst spread rose 31 basis points to 1,068 basis points from 1,037 basis points.

Overall the index ended with a market value of $306.903 billion in 1,460 issues, both lower than $310.669 billion in 1,466 issues a week earlier.

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