From the US to China, 2025 a blockbuster year for stock markets

In 2025, stock markets enjoyed a phenomenal run.

Markets have made some of the biggest gains in a long time, from North America to Europe and Asia.

In the midst of the turmoil caused by US President Donald Trump’s shake-up of global trade, Wall Street earned a third consecutive year of high returns, but non-US stocks performed even better as investors looked for alternative markets.

The MSCI ACWI Ex-US index, which is globally focused, had its best performance since 2009, when the global and financial crisis was in full swing.

The benchmark S&amp, P 500, which tracks non-US stocks in more than 40 markets, finished up more than 17% on Wednesday, up about 29 percent.

A break from the decade-long trend of US stocks dominating global indexes is seen by the bullish streak.

Analysts attribute the non-US markets’ exceptional performance, among other things, to Trump’s fear, concerns about Silicon Valley tech companies’ sky-high valuations, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in China, and the US dollar’s weakness.

According to Charles Schwab analyst Michelle Gibley, “international stocks could be poised for another strong year as earnings and economic growth are anticipated to accelerate and stocks are attractively valued in comparison to stocks in the S&amp, P 500 index,” according to a note earlier this month from Charles Schwab analyst Michelle Gibley.

Some of the biggest gains were made in Asia.

Despite being home to corporate giants like Samsung and Hyundai, South Korea has long been one of the weakest developed nations; however, it has topped the global rankings with its KOSPI&nbsp, finishing&nbsp, up&nbsp, almost 76&nbsp, percent.

Due to strong demand for their chips used in artificial intelligence, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics led the market, rising by about 280 and 125 percent, respectively.

The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai increased more than 21 percent, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong ended the year nearly 31 percent higher.

The Nikkei 225’s performance in Japan increased by about 28%.

Europe had a strong finish too.