The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which is an index that includes the 30 largest industrial firms in the United States, is one of the most quoted financial market indexes in the world. Many investors use the DJIA as a barometer of the performance of the U.S. financial markets because it provides an indication as to how the U.S. economy is performing at any point in time. As stated in the chapter, U.S. stock markets accounted for approximately two-thirds of the value of the world markets in 1970. Today, however, U.S. markets account for less than 45 percent of the total value of worldwide stock markets. One reason the U.S. markets account for a lower proportion of the value of all stock markets in the world is because emerging markets have expanded significantly in recent years. Countries along the Pacific Rim, including China and Korea, as well as South American countries and India, are responsible for much of the recent growth in world financial markets. Using the Thomson ONE database, compare the major market indexes of the following countries with regard to their changes in value during the past 12 months:

Argentina...............................................  [ARGMERV]
France....................................................... [FRCAC40]
Germany................................................... [DAXINDX]
Japan............................................................ [NIKI300]
South Korea............................................ [KORCOMP]
United States................................................... [DJIND]
Go to the Thomson ONE database and click on Indices in the upper left corner of the screen. Enter the ticker symbols one at a time and find the change in price (index value) for the past 12 months. Compare the change in value for each market index and write a paragraph about the growth in the market in each country.