The U.S. stock market may have wrapped up the past year with double-digit gains, but it was far surpassed by counterparts in Europe and Asia that benefited from a flight of capital outside the United States and the global AI rush.
The S&P 500, an index of 500 large companies and a proxy for the U.S. stock market, posted a robust 16.4 percent finish in 2025. But an index of more than 750 non-U.S. companies, MSCI World ex USA Index, soared 28.6 percent over the same period.
