Ranked: Top Performing Equity Markets as of May 2025

Marcus Lu
2025-05-21 12:49:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Top Performing Equity Markets as of May 2025

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Global equity markets have delivered mixed performance in 2025 so far, with U.S. stocks selling off sharply in April.

Meanwhile, European markets have surged due to easing monetary policy from the European Central Bank (ECB), as well as a rebound in industrial activity across the region.

In this graphic, we’ve visualized the top performing equity markets as of May 13, 2025, based on country-focused ETF returns. Tickers for each benchmark ETF are listed beside the flags.

Data & Discussion

The data we used to create this graphic comes from YCharts, accessed via Charlie Bilello’s weekly blog.

Country	ETF Ticker	Total Return YTD
Poland	EPOL	47.6%
Austria	EWO	34.3%
Greece	GREK	32.7%
Spain	EWP	32.5%
Chile	ECH	30.0%
Colombia	GXC	29.8%
Italy	EWI	27.9%
Germany	EWG	26.2%
Mexico	EWW	26.0%
Brazil	EWZ	25.9%
Finland	EFNL	22.6%
Sweden	EWD	21.2%
South Africa	EZA	20.9%
France	EWQ	17.3%
Netherlands	EWN	17.0%
Norway	NORW	16.9%
China	MCHI	16.7%
Switzerland	EWL	15.7%
Singapore	EWS	15.4%
Belgium	EWK	14.1%
South Korea	EWY	13.5%
Kuwait	KWT	12.9%
Peru	EPU	12.8%
UK	EWU	12.3%
Argentina	ARGT	12.3%
Hong Kong	EWH	12.1%
Philippines	EPHE	12.1%
UAE	UAE	11.5%
Vietnam	VNM	11.0%
Canada	EWC	7.7%
Japan	EWJ	7.7%
Israel	EIS	7.1%
Ireland	EIRL	6.7%
Australia	EWA	6.5%
Qatar	QAT	6.1%
Taiwan	EWT	2.9%
India	INDA	2.1%
Denmark	EDEN	1.9%
Malaysia	EWM	1.6%
New Zealand	ENZL	1.0%
U.S.	SPY	0.4%
Saudi Arabia	KSA	-1.3%
Indonesia	EIDO	-5.1%
Thailand	THD	-6.5%
Turkey	TUR	-9.5%

Many of the world’s top performing equity markets are located in Europe.

One reason for this is the ECB’s recent rate cut decision, which reduced the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points in April.

Another reason is rising business activity across the eurozone, driven by German manufacturing.

European Defense Stocks Are Flying High

European defense stocks have performed particularly well in recent months due to ongoing Russian aggression and America’s wavering commitment to NATO.

As an example, shares of Rheinmetall AG, Germany’s largest defense company, have climbed nearly 200% since the beginning of the year.

Defense spending across Europe rose 17% to $693 million in 2024, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

I do believe we will see further increases in the years ahead. Europe recognizes the need to stand on its own and not rely as heavily on the United States
Seth Krummrich, Vice President at Global Guardian

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NATO members have greatly increased their spending in recent years—see the data here.

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