The Asia Dow Gained 12.28% In 2012’s First Quarter Despite 2.10% Slide In March, According To Dow Jones Indexes - 29 Of The Asia Dow’s 30 Stocks Closed Q1 In Positive Territory - Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Topped All Asia Dow Components With 41.70% Quarterly Gain, Led March Performers With 11.26% Increase

The Asia Dow, an equal-weighted, 30-stock index that measures 30 of the leading blue-chip stocks traded in the Asia/Pacific region, closed 2012’s first quarter with a 12.28% gain despite a 2.10% slide in March, according to data compiled by Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider.

 For the first quarter of 2012, 29 of The Asia Dow’s 30 components closed in positive territory – only Indonesia’s Astra International, with a fall of 0.90%, finished the quarter down among Asia Dow stocks. Nineteen of the index’s components finished March with a monthly decline. The Asia Dow advanced 5.05% in February 2012 and finished flat (0.00%) in the 2011 first quarter.

The index’s top performer for 2012’s first quarter and March was Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. of Taiwan, which finished up 41.70% and 11.26%, respectively. For the quarter, shares of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (India, up 36.90%) and Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan, up 30.12%) were the second- and third-leading Asia Dow performers. For the month of March, Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd. (Japan, up 7.64%) and Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. (South Korea, up 6.51%), were the second- and third-leading stocks on The Asia Dow. China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (China, down 16.82%) was The Asia Dow’s worst-performing stock in March.

By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher for the quarter and month of March, up 8.14% and 2.01%, respectively. The Europe Dow ended the quarter up 7.07% despite dropping 2.11% in March, and The Global Dow gained 10.86% and 0.09 for the quarter and month, respectively.   

The Europe Dow is an equal-weighted index that measures 30 of the region’s leading blue-chip stocks; The Global Dow measures the performance of 150 leading companies from around the world.

“While fears of a slowdown in China were obviously reflected in The Asia Dow stocks’ March performance, it clearly wasn’t enough to offset what was a solid, across-the-board first quarter for most of the region’s largest stocks,” said John Prestbo, Executive Director and Editor of Dow Jones Indexes. “As the region’s biggest player, any negative perceptions about China’s business and economic prospects will obviously affect Asia-Pacific’s top equities. However, Asia Dow components compete globally and stock-market performance for the quarter in other parts of the world, particularly in the U.S., was robust. This clearly served to mitigate some of the market concerns emanating from China and elsewhere in the region.”

The Asia Dow, The Europe Dow and The Global Dow track leading blue-chip companies according to the same underlying principles as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Stocks in The Asia Dow, The Europe Dow and The Global Dow are weighted equally; The Dow Jones Industrial Average uses a price-weighted methodology.

All index and component performance values are based on price returns/USD.

Below, please find a list of The Asia Dow’s 30 stocks and their Q1 2012 and March 2012 performances: