The Great Stock Shortage of ’13

Via Bloomberg’s Dave Wilson (Chart of the Day):

Repurchases are magnifying gains in U.S. stocks and are poised to lift prices further, according to Pavilion Global Markets Ltd. strategists.

As the CHART OF THE DAY shows, the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index has risen more than the market value of all U.S. companies since the current bull market started in March 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Through last week, the gap was about 13 percentage points.

“The difference comes from a reduction in the number of shares,” Pierre Lapointe, head of global strategy and research at the Montreal-based firm, and two colleagues wrote yesterday in a report. “The resulting de-equitization is giving a boost to this stock-market rally.”

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