Problem: I have a set of monthly stock performance figures. I have to calculate the % return for each month. Here is an example of my data:
Jul 04 - 19.09
Jun 04 - 19.06
May 04 - 17.95
Apr 04 - 14.22
Mar 04 - 14.14
To determine the % return for Jul 04 would I take (19.09 - 19.06)/19.06 to come up with .62%? Would I then take the same formula for each month needed?
Also, I have a close figure and an adjusted close figure. I know I need to use the adjusted close figure, but what is the difference between the two?