If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that the last several weeks have not been enjoyable for anyone who is long equities. The chart below summarizes when and by how much major international equity markets have declined from their 2012 peaks. Not surprisingly, Spain was the first to peak and now leads the list of international markets highlighted with a decline of 24% from its peak. Although its peak came more than a month later, Italy has been playing catch up with Spain and is now down 19.7% from its high.
Although US equities are down close to 5% from their highs in April, compared to the rest of the world, things looks pretty good here. The only other country that has seen less of a decline than the US is China. In terms of timing, while most countries saw their year to date peaks in early to mid-March, US equities held out the longest and didn't peak until April 2nd.
