Arya News - Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 saw its third year of double-digit gains, while non-US stocks registered their best run since 2009.
Stock markets had a stellar run in 2025.
From North America to Europe and Asia, markets racked up some of the biggest gains in years.
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The globally-focused MSCI ACWI Ex-US index had its strongest performance since 2009, when the global financial crisis was in full swing.
The index, which tracks non-US stocks in more than 40 markets, was on Wednesday on track to finish 2025 up about 29 percent, compared with the more than 17 percent return of the benchmark S&P 500.
The bullish streak marks a break from the decade-plus trend of US stocks dominating global indexes.
Analysts have attributed the standout performance by non-US markets to uncertainty caused by Trump, concerns about the sky-high valuations of Silicon Valley tech firms, artificial intelligence (AI) advances in China and the weakness of the US dollar, among other factors.
“International stocks could be poised for another strong year as earnings and economic growth are expected to accelerate and stocks are attractively valued compared with stocks in the S&P 500 index,” Charles Schwab analyst Michelle Gibley said in a note earlier this month.
Asia saw some of the biggest gains.
South Korea, long among the weakest developed markets despite being home to corporate giants Samsung and Hyundai, topped the global rankings, with its KOSPI finishing up nearly 76 percent.
SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics led the gains, rising some 280 percent and 125 percent, respectively, on the back of strong demand for their chips used in AI.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended the year nearly 31 percent higher, while the SSE Composite Index in Shanghai was up more than 21 percent.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up about 28 percent.
Europe also finished strong.
The FTSE 100 in London and DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both heading into 2026 up more than 20 percent.