The Russell Global Index will have an increased U.S. presence
when it is reconstituted in two weeks, with the country set to have
a net 121 additions in the index of more than 10,000 stocks.
Meanwhile, emerging markets will also add to their lots as other
developed countries - led by the U.K. - will have a smaller
presence in the global index, said Russell Investments.
"The bottom line is that emerging market nations are becoming
more developed," said Rob Balkema, portfolio analyst for Russell
Investments. "A decade ago, countries like South Korea, Israel,
Taiwan and China were a far cry from how they operate today, and
growth projections for the larger emerging nations like China are
quite high for the next 25 years."
The final list of what companies will be part of Russell's
various stock indexes won't be finalized until after trading ends
June 26. But on a preliminary basis, the U.S. is set to be followed
on the net-additions list for the Russell Global Index by Israel at
57, Taiwan with 37 and South Korea at 25. China is lower on the
preliminary list with 19.
Among those set for deletion, the U.K. leads the way with 59,
with Canada next at 42, Australia with 41 and Japan at 38. "Japan
in particular is an export economy and as global growth has slowed
dramatically over the past year and exports have decreased, such
markets have become a smaller slice of the global pie," said
Balkema.
Five countries which had been part of the index won't be
eligible in the coming year because of risk scores or they have no
securities that qualify for membership this year. Pakistan
currently has 35 companies in the Global Index. Ukraine, Vietnam,
Latvia and Slovakia are also set to lose a presence in the
index.
The U.S. portion of the Global Index, known as the Russell 3000,
is set to have 276 additions and 155 deletions. Among the
preliminary additions include truck maker Navistar Inc. (NAV) while
impending deletions include struggling media companies A.H. Belo
Corp. (AHC) and McClatchy Co. (MNI).
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2136;
kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com