CraigTolliver

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) — As the Dow Jones Industrials again slipped below the 8,000 mark Thursday after a two-month reprieve, so too did mutual funds return to their bearish ways in the latest week, plummeting 4.8 percent on average, Lipper reported Friday.

Over the five-day period ended Thursday, diversified equity funds investing in the U.S. stock market tumbled 4.8 percent, as did portfolios investing abroad. Sector funds collectively skidded 5.1 percent.

Profit warnings sent the Dow DJIA, -0.82% spiraling 5.2 percent lower for the week, with the Nasdaq $COMPQ and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.61% joining the slide, losing 4.9 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

Year to date, the average stock mutual fund is down over 23 percent. U.S. diversified equity funds are off by nearly 25 percent for the period.

So far this year, every single mutual fund category tracked by Lipper, with the exception of gold, up 53 percent, and real estate, up 4.1 percent, are in negative territory — with the vast majority sporting double-digit declines.

The only group to post positive performance this week was Japan funds, delivering average returns of 0.9 percent. Pacific region funds, which also invest in Japan, suffered comparatively modest damage, losing 0.9 percent for the week.

‘Rising Sun’ rises higher

The UltraJapan ProFund UJPIX, +0.65% a highly leveraged index fund which attempts to double the performance of the large-cap Nikkei 225 Index 65599W10 climbed 6.6 percent in the latest week. Year to date, the fund is down nearly 22 percent however.

Among actively managed funds focusing on Japan, top gainers included the $308 million Japan Fund SJPNX up 2.5 percent, $9.4 million Matthews Japan Fund MJFOX, +0.22% 2.2 percent higher, and $3 million Scudder Japanese Equities FJEBX with a gain of 1.4 percent for the week.

So far this year, Japan funds as a group are of off 6.1 percent — one of a handful of fund categories to manage single-digit declines for the period.

Japanese stocks climbed Thursday as the central bank’s plan to buy shares directly from banks ignited optimism that swift steps might be taken to clear their debts and stabilize the country’s financial system. See full story .

Trading was very active in Tokyo, with volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main section soaring to 1.1 billion shares compared to Wednesday’s 782 million.

Shares of Mizuho Holdings (8305), the world’s largest bank by assets, leaped 14.8 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking SMBJF (8318) jumped 13.5 percent and was the most actively traded stock in the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The rally in bank shares ebbed Friday, however, as Japanese stocks responded to Wall Street’s Thursday jitters. See most recent Asia Markets report.

Catch up on the week’s top stories in the Mutual Funds Weekly .