Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in United States was reported at 32.65 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index dropped around ***** points in the four weeks from February 12 to March 11, 2020, but has since recovered and peaked at ********* points as of November 24, 2024. In February 2020 - just prior to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the DJIA index stood at a little over ****** points. U.S. markets suffer as virus spreads The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a turbulent period for stock markets – the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also recorded dramatic drops. At the start of February, some analysts remained optimistic that the outbreak would ease. However, the increased spread of the virus started to hit investor confidence, prompting a record plunge in the stock markets. The Dow dropped by more than ***** points in the week from February 21 to February 28, which was a fall of **** percent – its worst percentage loss in a week since October 2008. Stock markets offer valuable economic insights The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index that monitors the share prices of the 30 largest companies in the United States. By studying the performance of the listed companies, analysts can gauge the strength of the domestic economy. If investors are confident in a company’s future, they will buy its stocks. The uncertainty of the coronavirus sparked fears of an economic crisis, and many traders decided that investment during the pandemic was too risky.

View data of the S&P 500, an index of the stocks of 500 leading companies in the US economy, which provides a gauge of the U.S. equity market.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in United Kingdom was reported at 14.38 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

The value of the DJIA index amounted to ****** at the end of June 2025, up from ********* at the end of March 2020. Global panic about the coronavirus epidemic caused the drop in March 2020, which was the worst drop since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average index – additional information The Dow Jones Industrial Average index is a price-weighted average of 30 of the largest American publicly traded companies on New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, and includes companies like Goldman Sachs, IBM and Walt Disney. This index is considered to be a barometer of the state of the American economy. DJIA index was created in 1986 by Charles Dow. Along with the NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 indices, it is amongst the most well-known and used stock indexes in the world. The year that the 2018 financial crisis unfolded was one of the worst years of the Dow. It was also in 2008 that some of the largest ever recorded losses of the Dow Jones Index based on single-day points were registered. On September 29, 2008, for instance, the Dow had a loss of ****** points, one of the largest single-day losses of all times. The best years in the history of the index still are 1915, when the index value increased by ***** percent in one year, and 1933, year when the index registered a growth of ***** percent.

As of November 14, 2021, all S&P 500 sector indices had recovered to levels above those of January 2020, prior to full economic effects of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic taking hold. However, different sectors recovered at different rates to sit at widely different levels above their pre-pandemic levels. This suggests that the effect of the coronavirus on financial markets in the United States is directly affected by how the virus has impacted various parts of the underlying economy. Which industry performed the best during the coronavirus pandemic? Companies operating in the information technology (IT) sector have been the clear winners from the pandemic, with the IT S&P 500 sector index sitting at almost ** percent above early 2020 levels as of November 2021. This is perhaps not surprising given this industry includes some of the companies who benefitted the most from the pandemic such as ************** and *******. The reason for these companies’ success is clear – as shops were shuttered and social gatherings heavily restricted due to the pandemic, online services such shopping and video streaming were in high demand. The success of the IT sector is also reflected in the performance of global share markets during the coronavirus pandemic, with tech-heavy NASDAQ being the best performing major market worldwide. Which industry performed the worst during the pandemic? Conversely, energy companies fared the worst during the pandemic, with the S&P 500 sector index value sitting below its early 2020 value as late as July 2021. Since then it has somewhat recovered, and was around ** percent above January 2020 levels as of October 2021. This reflects the fact that many oil companies were among the share prices suffering the largest declines over 2020. A primary driver for this was falling demand for fuel in line with the reduction in tourism and commuting caused by lockdowns all over the world. However, as increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates throughout 2021 led to lockdowns being lifted and global tourism reopening, demand has again risen - reflected by the recent increase in the S&P 500 energy index.

The average for 2021 based on 87 countries was 32.21 percent. The highest value was in Venezuela: 991.39 percent and the lowest value was in Botswana: -6.38 percent. The indicator is available from 1984 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index used to analyze trends in the stock market. While many economists prefer to use other, market-weighted indices (the DJIA is price-weighted) as they are perceived to be more representative of the overall market, the Dow Jones remains one of the most commonly-used indices today, and its longevity allows for historical events and long-term trends to be analyzed over extended periods of time. Average changes in yearly closing prices, for example, shows how markets developed year on year. Figures were more sporadic in early years, but the impact of major events can be observed throughout. For example, the occasions where a decrease of more than 25 percent was observed each coincided with a major recession; these include the Post-WWI Recession in 1920, the Great Depression in 1929, the Recession of 1937-38, the 1973-75 Recession, and the Great Recession in 2008.

China: Stock market return, percent: The latest value from 2021 is 13.47 percent, an increase from 7.07 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 32.21 percent, based on data from 87 countries. Historically, the average for China from 1991 to 2021 is 20.88 percent. The minimum value, -33.59 percent, was reached in 1994 while the maximum of 308.94 percent was recorded in 1992.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in Brazil was reported at 18.17 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Brazil - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

This statistic presents a **** year projection for returns of selected asset classes as of ********. During that time, the asset classes expecting the highest returns are emerging market equities and global natural resources, both with a total return (in U.S. dollars) *** percent per annum. By contrast, U.S. and global large cap equites are expected to return less than **** percent, while government bonds are expected to return less than *** percent per annum.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in India was reported at 21.5 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Equity returns remained high in 2020, in spite of the uncertainty and volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic and related partial shutdowns. Initial public offerings (IPOs) ended the year with the highest rate of equity returns, which amounted to ** percent returns for investors. However, the most compelling financial story in the second half of the year revolved around the huge increase in IPOs via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). SPAC mergers refer to the practice of a SPAC, which is a publicly listed company with no operations, merging with a private company to take the latter public without following the normal IPO process. In 2021, however, IPOs and SPAC mergers experienced negative returns. Why are NASDAQ and S&P 500 relevant benchmarks? The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are two of the most important stock indices in the United States, if not the world. The Nasdaq Composite Index includes over 2,500 stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock market, which is the second largest stock exchange globally. The S&P 500 index tracks the stock value of 500 large companies, such as Facebook and Alphabet, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. What level of impact did the pandemic have on these indices? Over the past decade, both the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 index have skyrocketed in value. However, both indices took a hit in February and March 2020 when the uncertainty caused by the pandemic led to investors selling off assets en masse. This dip was short-lived and both indices had fully recovered by the third quarter.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in France was reported at 26.49 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

While the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused all major stock market indices to fall sharply in March 2020, both the extent of the decline at this time, and the shape of the subsequent recovery, have varied greatly. For example, on March 15, 2020, major European markets and traditional stocks in the United States had shed around ** percent of their value compared to January *, 2020. However, Asian markets and the NASDAQ Composite Index only shed around ** to ** percent of their value. A similar story can be seen with the post-coronavirus recovery. As of November 14, 2021 the NASDAQ composite index value was around ** percent higher than in January 2020, while most other markets were only between ** and ** percent higher. Why did the NASDAQ recover the quickest? Based in New York City, the NASDAQ is famously considered a proxy for the technology industry as many of the world’s largest technology industries choose to list there. And it just so happens that technology was the sector to perform the best during the coronavirus pandemic. Accordingly, many of the largest companies who benefitted the most from the pandemic such as Amazon, PayPal and Netflix, are listed on the NADSAQ, helping it to recover the fastest of the major stock exchanges worldwide. Which markets suffered the most? The energy sector was the worst hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, oil companies share prices suffered large declines over 2020 as demand for oil plummeted while workers found themselves no longer needing to commute, and the tourism industry ground to a halt. In addition, overall share prices in two major stock exchanges – the London Stock Exchange (as represented by the FTSE 100 index) and Hong Kong (as represented by the Hang Seng index) – have notably recovered slower than other major exchanges. However, in both these, the underlying issue behind the slower recovery likely has more to do with political events unrelated to the coronavirus than it does with the pandemic – namely Brexit and general political unrest, respectively.

Between March 4 and March 11, 2020, the S&P 500 index declined by ** percent, descending into a bear market. On March 12, 2020, the S&P 500 plunged *** percent, its steepest one-day fall since 1987. The index began to recover at the start of April and reached a peak in December 2021. As of December 29, 2024, the value of the S&P 500 stood at ******** points. Coronavirus sparks stock market chaos Stock markets plunged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with investors fearing its spread would destroy economic growth. Buoyed by figures that suggested cases were leveling off in China, investors were initially optimistic about the virus being contained. However, confidence in the market started to subside as the number of cases increased worldwide. Investors were deterred from buying stocks, and this was reflected in the markets – the values of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite also dived during the height of the crisis. What is a bear market? A bear market occurs when the value of a stock market suffers a prolonged decline of more than 20 percent over a period of at least 2 months. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe concern and sent stock markets on a steep downward spiral. The S&P 500 achieved a record closing high of ***** on February 19, 2020. However, just over 3 weeks later, the market closed on *****, which represented a decline of around ** percent in only 16 sessions.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in China was reported at 13.47 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Ireland: Stock market return, percent: The latest value from 2021 is 28.22 percent, an increase from 1.45 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 32.21 percent, based on data from 87 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 1987 to 2021 is 11.26 percent. The minimum value, -44.57 percent, was reached in 2009 while the maximum of 138.07 percent was recorded in 1987.

Poland: Stock market return, percent: The latest value from 2021 is 21.25 percent, an increase from -20.29 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 32.21 percent, based on data from 87 countries. Historically, the average for Poland from 1995 to 2021 is 5.8 percent. The minimum value, -31.66 percent, was reached in 2001 while the maximum of 67.59 percent was recorded in 1996.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in Mexico was reported at 26.44 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Mexico - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.