As far as 2025, the stock markets around the world have seen ups and downs. However, stock markets always fight back. While some markets continued to make new all-time highs, some came fighting strongly to make new highs. Here’s how all major indices performed this year.
Global Market Overview
Amid the wars and tariffs, the US markets still hit an all-time high. In 2025, the Dow Jones index surged by around 9% as of 29th September 2025. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei Index has successfully traded above its 1990 level for the first time.
Adding to the overview, Korea’s Kospi Index is the highest- gained index this year. It has gained by around 42% till date. However, another Asian nation, India, has the Nifty 50 index, which is the least performing index among the major world indices. The Nifty 50 only managed to show growth of 4% this year.
| Index | YTD Gains |
|---|---|
| Kospi (Korea) | 42% |
| Hang Seng Index | 34% |
| DAX (Germany) | 19% |
| NASDAQ (US) | 17% |
| FTSE 100 (UK) | 14% |
| S&P 500 (US) | 13% |
| NIKKEI 225 (Japan) | 13% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (US) | 9% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 6% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 4% |
Overall, the Global markets have shown good strength despite ups and downs.
US Markets
The US markets, considered to be the strongest markets, have performed positively after last year’s elections. Despite the tariffs fight, the Dow Jones (average of top 30 companies) increased by around 9% this year. Currently it is trading around at its all-time high at 46,316.07.
The NASDAQ Composite, the index that includes almost all stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, has increased by almost 17% in 2025 so far. It is trading at its all-time high at 22,591.15 points.
The S&P 500, the index showing the performance of the top 500 companies listed in the United States, has seen significant growth of 13% this year. The S&P 500 index is also trading at an all-time high along with other US indices. The S&P 500 index is trading at 6,661.21.
The US market has performed positively to their new president’s policies.
European Markets
The European markets have risen by a significant margin this year. However, the French Index, the CAC 40, has underperformed the UK’s FTSE 100 Index & Germany’s DAX Index.
CAC 40: The CAC 40, which is trading at 7,855.37 points, has come down from its resistance zone of 8,200. The French Index had touched 8200 twice in the period of 1 year, but it failed to break it in Mar 2025. Since March 2025, the Index has shown weaknesses, but as of now, it is trading only 4% away from its highs. In 2025, the Index had remained volatile for the first few months. However, despite the volatility, it has grown by over 6%.
UK’s FTSE 100 Index: It is an index showing performance of top 100 companies from United Kingdom.
The FTSE 100 Index, which is going strong this year, performed positively with almost 14% gains so far. The index that kept making new highs month after month since July is now trading at 9,315.78.
DAX (German Index): The best-performing index of Europe this year so far. The DAX index, which shows the performance of the top 40 companies in Germany, has increased by 19%. Beating the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 Index.
Among the Major Indices of Europe, the Germany’s DAX index outperformed while France’s CAC 40 index underperfomred.
Asian Markets
Asian markets have shown mixed reactions. While Hang Seng outperformed the global market, Nifty 50 underperformed in 2025.
Nifty 50: Showing no weaknesses since 2015, the Indian markets are still going strongly. This year increased by 4%. However, the 4% this year seems like low gains if compared with other global markets. The Nifty 50 Index is also trading near an all-time high. Currently trading at 24,611.10 points.
Hang Seng Index: The Index which heavily dominated by China companies, have shown great strength by gaining 33% this year.
After struggling for a few years, the Hang Seng index is coming back strongly with 33% gains this year. It is now trading just 20% below its all-time high, which was set back in 2018. It is currently trading at 26,855.57 points.
Japan’s Nikkei 225: An index that includes the top 225 stocks of Japanese companies. This index has been trading strong above 39,000 points. Japan’s Nikkei index had fallen below 39,000 after its crash in 1989.
The Nikkei 225 Index is trading 13% above this year at 44,932.58. It has also made a new all-time high after many years.
Kospi (Korean Index): The index that has shown the highest growth this year. Kospi, the Korean Index, has grown over 42% so far this year. Making a new all-time high after 2021, it is trading at 3,424.60 points.
Conclusion:
Despite tough times, the global markets remained strong, showing no negative returns. India’s Nifty 50 is the least performing index among major indices. Meanwhile another Asian index, the Korean Index, performed best globally.