Asset Correlations to S&P 500
Bespoke Investment Group
By Team
March 22, 2011
The charts below summarize the rolling six-month correlation between the S&P 500 and other asset classes (Oil, Treasuries, and the US Dollar Index). As shown in the top chart, the S&P 500's correlation to oil remains highly positive and near the high end of its range of the last ten years. While oil and stocks are positively correlated, stocks and bonds have an extremely inverse correlation. In fact, the two asset classes haven't been this inversely correlated in at least ten years. Finally, with respect to the dollar, there is little correlation with the S&P 500 (-0.15).
The current lack of correlation between the dollar and equity prices stands in stark contrast to the credit crisis and the early stages of the bull market, when the two had an extreme negative correlation. Back then, you could tell the direction of equities by simply looking at the direction of the dollar. Today, equities are being driven by more than just the dollar, indicating an environment driven by fundamentals and not just asset flows.
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