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Charting the World’s Major Stock Markets on the Same Scale (1990-2019)

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4 years ago

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Major stock markets compared to the S&P 500

Charting the World’s Major Stock Markets

Most investors around the world are familiar with the S&P 500 index.

Not only is it the most widely accepted barometer of U.S. stock market performance, but it’s also been on a 10-year bull run, now sitting at all-time highs near 3,170.

This week, we chart those historical returns, and then use the U.S. benchmark as a backdrop to compare other major stock markets around the world, such as those in Europe, Asia, and Canada.

Putting Them All at Scale

One challenge in comparing global markets directly is that all indices are on arbitrary scales.

To directly compare them, the most natural option would be to transform the data to percentage terms. While that’s all fine and dandy, it’s also a little boring.

To make things more interesting, we’ve collected historical data that goes back nearly 30 years for each index. This was mostly done using Macrotrends, a fantastic resource for historical data. We used November 26th, 1990 as a cut-off date, since that was the earliest data point available for some of the country indices used.

We then transformed all of this data to be on the same scale of the S&P 500, so performance can be directly compared to the common American stock market benchmark.

Comparing Markets Using the S&P 500

Alright, now that we have the same scale for each market, let’s dive into the data:

CountryBenchmarkCurrent Value (in S&P 500 terms)Gain since Nov 26, 1990
🇺🇸 United StatesS&P 5003,168+901%
🇭🇰 Hong KongHang Seng Comp.2,926+824%
🇩🇪 GermanyDAX 302,913+820%
🇨🇦 CanadaS&P/TSX Comp.1,717+444%
🇫🇷 FranceCAC 401,160+268%
🇬🇧 United KingdomFTSE 1001,072+238%
🇯🇵 JapanNikkei 225315+1%

Note: Data has been transformed to match the scale of the S&P 500, and is current as of December 13, 2019

If you invested $100 in the U.S. market on November 26, 1990, you’d have over $1,000 today.

Over nearly 30 years, the S&P 500 has increased by 901%, which is the most out any of these major indices. If you invested in the German or Hong Kong markets, you’d have fairly similar results as well — each gained more than 800% over the same time period.

Meanwhile, the markets in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom have all increased, but at a far slower pace:

  • In S&P 500 terms, Canada would be sitting at 1,717 — which is where the U.S. market was back in 2013.
  • France would be at 1,160, a mark the S&P 500 last hit in 2010.
  • The United Kingdom would sit at 1,072, also equivalent to 2010 for the U.S. market.

Finally, in S&P 500 terms, the Japanese stock market would be at a lowly 315 points today — roughly where it started 30 years ago. In other words, if you had invested $100 in Japanese stocks in 1990, you’d have gained just $1 over a period of three decades.

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Markets

The European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities

On average, the European stock market has valuations that are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations. But how can you access the market?
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12 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bar chart showing that European stock market indices tend to have lower or comparable valuations to other regions.

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12 hours ago

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The following content is sponsored by STOXX
An infographic showing that compared to North American and Asian stocks, the European stock market has lower or comparable valuations and low-to-moderate correlation.

European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities

Europe is known for some established brands, from L’Oréal to Louis Vuitton. However, the European stock market offers additional opportunities that may be lesser known.

The above infographic, sponsored by STOXX, outlines why investors may want to consider European stocks.

Attractive Valuations

Compared to most North American and Asian markets, European stocks offer lower or comparable valuations.

IndexPrice-to-Earnings RatioPrice-to-Book Ratio
EURO STOXX 5014.92.2
STOXX Europe 60014.42
U.S.25.94.7
Canada16.11.8
Japan15.41.6
Asia Pacific ex. China17.11.8

Data as of February 29, 2024. See graphic for full index names. Ratios based on trailing 12 month financials. The price to earnings ratio excludes companies with negative earnings.

On average, European valuations are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations, potentially offering an affordable entry point for investors.

Research also shows that lower price ratios have historically led to higher long-term returns.

Market Movements Not Closely Connected

Over the last decade, the European stock market had low-to-moderate correlation with North American and Asian equities.

The below chart shows correlations from February 2014 to February 2024. A value closer to zero indicates low correlation, while a value of one would indicate that two regions are moving in perfect unison.

EURO
STOXX 50		STOXX
EUROPE 600		U.S.CanadaJapanAsia Pacific
ex. China
EURO STOXX 501.000.970.550.670.240.43
STOXX EUROPE 6001.000.560.710.280.48
U.S.1.000.730.120.25
Canada1.000.220.40
Japan1.000.88
Asia Pacific ex. China1.00

Data is based on daily USD returns.

European equities had relatively independent market movements from North American and Asian markets. One contributing factor could be the differing sector weights in each market. For instance, technology makes up a quarter of the U.S. market, but health care and industrials dominate the broader European market.

Ultimately, European equities can enhance portfolio diversification and have the potential to mitigate risk for investors. 

Tracking the Market

For investors interested in European equities, STOXX offers a variety of flagship indices:

IndexDescriptionMarket Cap 
STOXX Europe 600Pan-regional, broad market€10.5T
STOXX Developed EuropePan-regional, broad-market€9.9T
STOXX Europe 600 ESG-XPan-regional, broad market, sustainability focus€9.7T
STOXX Europe 50Pan-regional, blue-chip€5.1T
EURO STOXX 50Eurozone, blue-chip€3.5T

Data is as of February 29, 2024. Market cap is free float, which represents the shares that are readily available for public trading on stock exchanges.

The EURO STOXX 50 tracks the Eurozone’s biggest and most traded companies. It also underlies one of the world’s largest ranges of ETFs and mutual funds. As of November 2023, there were €27.3 billion in ETFs and €23.5B in mutual fund assets under management tracking the index.

“For the past 25 years, the EURO STOXX 50 has served as an accurate, reliable and tradable representation of the Eurozone equity market.”

— Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX

Partnering with STOXX to Track the European Stock Market

Are you interested in European equities? STOXX can be a valuable partner:

  • Comprehensive, liquid and investable ecosystem
  • European heritage, global reach
  • Highly sophisticated customization capabilities
  • Open architecture approach to using data
  • Close partnerships with clients
  • Part of ISS STOXX and Deutsche Börse Group

With a full suite of indices, STOXX can help you benchmark against the European stock market.

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Learn how STOXX’s European indices offer liquid and effective market access.

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