Annual Report 1997/1998 - Munich Re

Munich Re Report of the Board of Management
Investments
Corrective adjustments after all-time highs on many financial markets
Notwithstanding individual turbulences, the business year 1997/98
was another record year for the capital markets in Europe and North
America. With interest rate levels falling further, the stock markets
recorded all-time highs. The US Dow Jones share index reached a new
record mark of 9,337. The European stock markets performed even
better, with prices increasing in some cases by over 50%, although
these markets were initially affected more strongly by the corrective
price adjustments of recent weeks than the US stock market.
The crisis in autumn 1997, which led to marked and sustained price
falls on the Asian capital markets, had only a small effect on Munich
Re’s investments.
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80
1997
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A
Position: 14th August 1998
Marked depreciation of Asian currencies
As expected, there was almost no change in exchange rates between
the currencies of the countries due to participate in European monetary
union. The US dollar and the British pound showed a very strong
upward trend in relation to these currencies. Thus on 31st December
1997 the dollar was quoted at 1.79 against the D-mark, as opposed to
1.55 a year before. The turbulences on the Far Eastern financial
markets led to a marked depreciation of Asian currencies against both
the dollar and European currencies.
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Dow Jones Industrials
Financial Times Stock Exchange
DAX 30
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