In 2025, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly ** percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was China, followed by the European Union as a whole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

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 40 percent of their value compared to January 5, 2020. However, Asian markets and the NASDAQ Composite Index only shed around 20 to 25 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 65 percent higher than in January 2020, while most other markets were only between 20 and 40 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.

Prices for Global Equity Index including live quotes, historical charts and news. Global Equity Index was last updated by Trading Economics this July 5 of 2025.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world, with an equity market capitalization of almost ** trillion U.S. dollars as of June 2025. The following three exchanges were the NASDAQ, PINK Exchange, and the Frankfurt Exchange. What is a stock exchange? A stock exchange is a marketplace where stockbrokers, traders, buyers, and sellers can trade in equities products. The largest exchanges have thousands of listed companies. These companies sell shares of their business, giving the general public the opportunity to invest in them. The oldest stock exchange worldwide is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, founded in the late sixteenth century. Other functions of a stock exchange Since these are publicly traded companies, every firm listed on a stock exchange has had an initial public offering (IPO). The largest IPOs can raise billions of dollars in equity for the firm involved. Related to stock exchanges are derivatives exchanges, where stock options, futures contracts, and other derivatives can be traded.

Key information about Russia RTS

• Russia RTS closed at 1,142.4 points in Feb 2025, compared with 949.5 points at the previous month end
• Russia Equity Market Index: Month End: RTS data is updated monthly, available from Sep 1995 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 1,055.6 points
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,459.9 points in May 2008 and a record low of 43.8 points in Sep 1998

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.

Trends in Stock market index. The latest data for over 100 countries around the world.

China's main stock market index, the SHANGHAI, rose to 3472 points on July 4, 2025, gaining 0.32% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 2.61% and is up 17.71% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from China. China Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Global Top Index: Exploring Trends in Stock Markets

  About the Dataset

The Global Top Index dataset offers a detailed view of daily trading activities from several of the world's leading stock market indices. This dataset is ideal for conducting comprehensive analyses to uncover insights and predictive trends in the international stock markets.

  Dataset Contents

The dataset encompasses the following key data points for each trading session across multiple dates… See the full description on the dataset page: https://huggingface.co/datasets/pettah/global-top-Index-exploring-trends-in-stock-Market.

United Kingdom's main stock market index, the GB100, fell to 8823 points on July 4, 2025, losing 0.00% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 0.13% and is up 7.54% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from United Kingdom. United Kingdom Stock Market Index (GB100) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Key information about France CAC 40

• France CAC 40 closed at 8,111.6 points in Feb 2025, compared with 7,950.2 points at the previous month end
• France Equity Market Index: Month End: CAC 40 data is updated monthly, available from Dec 1987 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 4,067.8 points
• The data reached an all-time high of 8,205.8 points in Mar 2024 and a record low of 893.8 points in Jan 1988

Russia's main stock market index, the MOEX, fell to 2802 points on July 4, 2025, losing 0.75% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has declined 1.91% and is down 11.06% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Russia. Russia Stock Market Index MOEX CFD - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Chinese

The value of the DJIA index amounted to ********* at the end of March 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.

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.

Israel's main stock market index, the TA-125, rose to 3097 points on July 3, 2025, gaining 0.60% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 13.73% and is up 55.45% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Israel. Israel Stock Market (TA-125) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Interactive chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) stock market index for the last 100 years. Historical data is inflation-adjusted using the headline CPI and each data point represents the month-end closing value. The current month is updated on an hourly basis with today's latest value.

France's main stock market index, the FR40, fell to 7696 points on July 4, 2025, losing 0.75% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has declined 1.21%, though it remains 0.27% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from France. France Stock Market Index (FR40) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Argentina's main stock market index, the Merval, rose to 2079392 points on July 4, 2025, gaining 0.06% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has declined 2.11%, though it remains 27.65% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Argentina. Argentina Stock Market (MERVAL) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Key information about India Sensitive 30 (Sensex)

• India Sensitive 30 (Sensex) closed at 73,198.1 points in Feb 2025, compared with 77,500.6 points at the previous month end
• India Equity Market Index: Month End: BSE: Sensitive 30 (Sensex) data is updated monthly, available from Apr 1979 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 4,285.0 points
• The data reached an all-time high of 84,299.8 points in Sep 2024 and a record low of 115.6 points in Nov 1979

• In the latest reports, SENSEX recorded a daily P/E ratio of 20.6 in Mar 2025