S&P 500 futures were up marginally this morning after the index closed down 0.33% yesterday. The index is up 1.41% year to date, which isn’t bad given that we’re only 42 days into the new year … unless you compare that to foreign stocks.
Global stocks are up nearly 9% year to date, as tracked by the MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks mid- and large-cap stocks in all countries except the U.S.
South Korea’s KOSPI, for instance, is up 24% year-to-date. You can see why that might be tempting. Why wait for a market that is growing at about 1% per month when there’s one growing at nearly 1% per day? (The index rose exactly 1% today, by amazing coincidence.)
Analyst Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research yesterday sent his clients a brutal chart showing the performance of U.S. stocks compared to foreign stock markets globally. You can see the U.S. right at the bottom there, besting only India.
“Does this mean that American exceptionalism, which was touted as recently as 2024, is kaput? Is this another sign of de-dollarization?” Yardeni asked, rhetorically. “We don’t think so. America remains exceptional, and foreigners continue to invest in the U.S. However, there are plenty of exceptional companies overseas that have also attracted global investors.”
