Global Market Watch: Five of Nine Indexes Positive YTD
As of July 20, 2026, five of nine major global indexes tracked were up year-to-date. Japan’s Nikkei 225 led with a 27.4% gain; India’s BSE SENSEX fell 8.8%.
On July 20, 2026, five of nine major global indexes on the watchlist were trading year-to-date in positive territory. Japan’s Nikkei 225 led with a 27.4% gain, Canada’s TSX was up 10.2% and the U.S. S&P 500 rose 8.7%. India’s BSE SENSEX declined 8.8%, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 4.3% through that date.
The watchlist covers the S&P 500 (United States), TSX (Canada), FTSE 100 (England), DAXK (Germany), CAC 40 (France), Nikkei 225 (Japan), Shanghai Composite (China), Hang Seng (Hong Kong) and BSE SENSEX (India). Five of the nine indexes showed positive year-to-date returns as of July 20, 2026.
The analysis aligns indexes on common start dates to compare performance over time. One chart begins on March 9, 2009, with each index indexed to 800 at that start date and plotted on a logarithmic vertical scale to show relative gains and losses since the global financial crisis lows. The low dates used for each market are: S&P 500, TSX, CAC 40 and BSE SENSEX on March 9, 2009; Nikkei 225 on March 10, 2009; DAXK on March 6, 2009; FTSE on March 3, 2009; Shanghai Composite on November 4, 2008; and Hang Seng on October 27, 2008.
A second visualization starts on October 9, 2007, a previous closing high for the S&P 500 and a midpoint of peak dates across markets in 2007–2008. A longer-term chart begins at the turn of the century to show performance across multiple market cycles. Accompanying tables list each index’s current value, all-time peak, date of that peak and the percentage distance from the record level.
Examples of single-country and region-focused exchange-traded funds referenced in the analysis include WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ), KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA), iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (EWH), iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). The German index tracked is DAXK, a price-only series, to keep consistency with the other indexes, which are presented without dividends.
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