Description

World Stocks - World stock markets in 2021 closed generally higher. The MSCI World Index, a benchmark for large companies based in 23 developed countries, closed +20.1%, adding to the +14.1% gain seen in 2020 and the +25.2% gain seen in 2019. Despite the continued economic damage from the pandemic, world stocks rallied in 2021 due to the stimulative monetary and fiscal policies launched by governments worldwide to address the pandemic.

Small-Capitalization Stocks - The MSCI World Small-Cap Index, which tracks companies with market caps between $200 million and $1.5 billion, rose by +14.4% in 2021 for the third consecutive yearly gain. The +14.4% rise in the MSCI World Small-Cap Index in 2021 underperformed the +20.1% gain seen in the large-cap MSCI World Index. Small caps in 2021 under-performed the large-caps after the slight outperformance seen in 2020.

World Industry Groups - All of the ten MSCI industry groups showed gains in 2021. Sector performance was led by the Energy sector, with a gain of Energy (+35.1%). The ranked returns of the other sectors are as follows: Information Technology (+29.1%), Financials (+25.1%), Health Care (+18.3%), Consumer Discretionary (+17.1%), Industrials (+15.1%), Telecom (+13.4%), Materials (+12.9%), Consumer Staples (+10.8%), and Utilities (+7.1%).

Emerging Markets - The MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index, which tracks companies based in 26 emerging countries, fell by -4.6% in 2021, giving back part of the +15.8% gain seen in 2020. The -4.6% decline in emerging market stocks seen in 2021 was substantially worse than the +20.1% gain seen in the MSCI World Index.

G7 - The G7 stock markets in 2021 all closed higher. The leader was the French CAC-40 index with a gain of +28.9%, followed closed by a +26.9% gain in the U.S. S&P 500 index, a +23.0% gain in Italy's MIB index, and a +21.7% gain in Canada's Toronto Composite index. The other G7 stock markets showed smaller gains of +15.8% in the German Dax index, +14.3% in the UK's FTSE index, and +4.9% in Japan's Nikkei Index.

North America - In North America, the U.S. S&P 500 index in 2021 showed the largest gain of +26.9%. Canada's Toronto Composite index showed a gain of +21.7%, and Mexico's Bolsa index rose by +20.9%.

Latin America - The Latin American stock markets in 2021 closed mixed. The ranked returns in 2021 were as follows: Argentina's Merval Index +63.0%, Chile's Stock Market Select Index +3.1%, Peru's Lima General Index +1.4%, Jamaica's Stock Exchange Index +0.1%, Colombia's General Index -1.9%, Brazil's Bovespa Index -11.9%, and Ecuador's Guayaqui Bolsa Index -15.7%.

Europe - European stocks in 2021 showed strength as the European economy recovered from the pandemic. The Euro Stoxx 50 index in 2021 rose by +22.8%, overcoming the -8.7% decline seen in 2020. The ranked European returns in 2021 were as follows: French CAC-40 index +28.9%, Italian MIB index +23.0%, German Dax index +15.8%, UK FTSE 100 index +14.3%, and Spanish IBEX 35 index +7.9%.

Asia - The Asian-Pacific stock markets in 2021 closed mixed. The MSCI Far East Index in 2021 rose by +1.5%, adding to the +12.8% gain seen in 2020. The ranked returns for the Asian-Pacific stock markets in 2021 were as follows: Vietnam's Stock Index +35.7%, Taiwan's TAIEX Index +23.7%, India's Mumbai Sensex 30 index +22.0%, Thailand's Stock Exchange index +14.4%, Australia's All-Ordinaries Index +13.6%, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index +10.1%, Singapore's Straights Times Index +9.8%, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index +4.9%, China's Shanghai Composite Index +4.8%, South Korea's Composite Index +3.6%, Pakistan's 100 Index +1.9%, Philippines' Composite index -0.2%, New Zealand's Exchange 50 Index -0.4%, Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite index -3.7%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -14.1%.

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