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Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 posted its third straight year of double-digit gains, while non-U.S. stocks posted their best performance since 2009.
Posted on December 31, 2025
Stock markets are set to do well in 2025.
From North America to Europe and Asia, markets posted their biggest gains in years.
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While Wall Street delivered heady returns for a third straight year, non-U.S. stocks fared even better as investors looked for alternative markets amid the disruption caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s shakeup of global trade.
The globally focused MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index posted its strongest performance since the global financial crisis broke out in 2009.
The index, which tracks non-U.S. stocks in more than 40 markets, was on track to end 2025 up about 30% on Wednesday, compared with a return of nearly 18% for the benchmark S&P 500.
The bullish move marks a break from more than a decade of U.S. stocks dominating global indexes.
Analysts attributed the outperformance in non-U.S. markets to factors such as Trump-induced uncertainty, concerns about lofty valuations of Silicon Valley technology companies, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in China and a weak U.S. dollar.
“International stocks are likely to have another strong year as earnings and economic growth are expected to accelerate and stocks are trading at attractive valuations compared with stocks in the S&P 500,” Charles Schwab analyst Michelle Gibley said in a note earlier this month.
Asia saw the biggest gains.
South Korea, long ranked among the weakest developed markets despite being home to corporate giants such as Samsung and Hyundai, topped the global rankings, with its KOSPI index up nearly 76%.
SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics led the gains, rising about 280% and 125% respectively due to strong demand for artificial intelligence chips.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended the year up nearly 31%, while Shanghai’s Shanghai Composite Index rose more than 21%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose about 28%.
Europe also performed strongly.
London’s FTSE 100 and Frankfurt’s DAX 40 are both set to rise more than 20% in 2026.
