Midyear markets: Nikkei +27.2%, Sensex -13.7% through June 8

Through June 8, 2026 Japan’s Nikkei 225 led a nine-index global watchlist with a 27.2% year-to-date gain, while India’s BSE SENSEX fell 13.7%, the largest decline on the list. Five of the nine tracked indexes were in positive territory at that date.

The watchlist comprises the S&P 500 (United States), TSX (Canada), FTSE 100 (United Kingdom), DAXK (Germany, price-only), CAC 40 (France), Nikkei 225 (Japan), Shanghai Composite (China), Hang Seng (Hong Kong) and BSE SENSEX (India). Canada’s TSX was up 8.7% and the U.S. S&P 500 was up 8.2% year-to-date. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Germany’s DAXK posted losses of 3.8% and 2.0%, respectively.

The coverage places current index levels alongside their all-time peaks by reporting each index’s latest value, its record high, the date of that high and the percentage gap from the record. Comparative charts use several start dates to show performance over different cycles: February 3, 2020 (the NBER recession start), March 9, 2009 (a set of market lows), October 9, 2007 (a prior S&P 500 closing high) and the turn of the century for a long-term view.

Market low dates vary by country: the S&P 500, TSX, CAC 40 and BSE SENSEX hit lows on March 9, 2009; the Nikkei on March 10, 2009; the DAXK on March 6, 2009; the FTSE on March 3, 2009; the Shanghai Composite on November 4, 2008; and the Hang Seng on October 27, 2008. The comparative charts use a logarithmic vertical scale to show proportional changes over time.

The German index reported is DAXK, a price-only series, used for consistency because most series in the set do not include dividends. Examples of single-country exchange-traded funds that map to these markets 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).