Update: Most equity markets post losses for fourth-quarter 2007, Mercer reports

The last quarter of 2007 brought losses in most equity markets, Mercer's latest Defined Contribution Universe Summary reports. The S&P 500 Index lost 3.3 percent, and the balanced asset class -- using a benchmark of 60 percent S&P 500 and 40 percent Lehman Aggregate Bond Indices -- posted a 0.8 percent loss. International equity markets, as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index, lost 1.8 percent. But the fixed-income asset class turned in a positive quarter, with the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index gaining 3 percent. Money-market instruments rose 1 percent, as measured by the three-month T-bill rate.  (Update, 12 Feb 2008, 5 pages)

• Full Update (PDF)

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