2009 Country Stock Market Performance

Below we highlight the year-to-date percentage change (local currency) for the major equity indices of 82 countries.  So far this year, 71 of the 82 countries are in positive territory, and the average change of all countries is 33.27%.  With a gain of 20.76%, the S&P 500 is 13 percentage points below the average, yet it's the second best G-7 performer behind Canada so far in 2009.

The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) have been standouts this year.  Russia is up the most out of all countries with a gain of 126.71%.  Brazil, China, and India are all up more than 70%.  Along with Russia, the Ukraine, Argentina, and Peru are up more than 100% year to date.

Eleven countries are down so far in 2009.  Ghana is down the most at -48.26%, followed by Puerto Rico (-40.56%), Bermuda (-38.36%), and Costa Rica (-35.37%).

Comments

[Senan]

Yes, emerging economies have outperformed this year. I read an interesting piece recently though (possibly through morningstar) that suggested some of this 'enthusiasm' could be attributed to the currency carry trade. Resulting in greater risk taking. If that is the case then disruptions to the dollar status quo and/or commodity prices, could trigger a reversal.

[time123]

Nice article.

It is not just the fact that International markets have done well, it is also that the US dollar has been weaker, making the returns of International ETFs even bigger than in local currency terms.

Using a good market timing system can make an investor really good money in ETFs that track these international markets.

time123P.S. I get my trading signals athttp://invetrics.comand yes, they cover International ETFs as well.