Market statistics
Annual returns of twelve world indices, compared
The same calculation applied to twelve major indices, in local currency. Read across a row and you get a year; read down a column and you get a market — including the long stretches where the two tell completely different stories.
12 indices · data through 28 Aug 2026
| Index | Market | Since | Per year | Positive | Best | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSE SENSEX | IndiaINR | 1980 | +15.38% | 78.3% | +94.0% 1985 | -52.5% 2008 |
| Nasdaq Composite | United StatesUSD | 1972 | +10.35% | 74.1% | +85.6% 1999 | -40.5% 2008 |
| Shanghai Composite | Mainland ChinaCNY | 1991 | +10.32% | 57.1% | +166.6% 1992 | -65.4% 2008 |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | United StatesUSD | 1986 | +8.97% | 77.5% | +33.5% 1995 | -33.8% 2008 |
| DAX | GermanyEUR | 1988 | +8.77% | 73.7% | +46.7% 1997 | -43.9% 2002 |
| KOSPI | South KoreaKRW | 1981 | +8.51% | 66.7% | +90.0% 1987 | -50.9% 2000 |
| Nikkei 225 | JapanJPY | 1950 | +8.40% | 65.8% | +119.1% 1952 | -42.1% 2008 |
| Russell 2000 | United StatesUSD | 1988 | +8.29% | 71.1% | +45.4% 2003 | -34.8% 2008 |
| S&P 500 | United StatesUSD | 1928 | +6.27% | 67.3% | +45.0% 1954 | -47.1% 1931 |
| Hang Seng Index | Hong KongHKD | 1987 | +6.08% | 61.5% | +115.7% 1993 | -48.3% 2008 |
| FTSE 100 | United KingdomGBP | 1985 | +5.22% | 73.2% | +35.1% 1989 | -31.3% 2008 |
| EURO STOXX 50 | EurozoneEUR | 1987 | +4.89% | 69.2% | +46.7% 1999 | -44.3% 2008 |
| Year | S&P 500 | Nasdaq Composite | Dow Jones Industrial Average | Russell 2000 | Hang Seng Index | Nikkei 225 | KOSPI | Shanghai Composite | DAX | FTSE 100 | EURO STOXX 50 | BSE SENSEX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026YTD | +12.7% | +13.6% | +11.4% | +19.8% | -0.2% | +31.9% | +61.1% | -0.4% | +8.4% | +9.0% | +11.8% | -9.3% |
| 2025 | +16.4% | +20.4% | +13.0% | +11.3% | +27.8% | +26.2% | +75.6% | +18.4% | +23.0% | +21.5% | +18.4% | +9.1% |
| 2024 | +23.3% | +28.6% | +12.9% | +10.0% | +17.7% | +19.2% | -9.6% | +12.7% | +18.9% | +5.7% | +8.3% | +8.2% |
| 2023 | +24.2% | +43.4% | +13.7% | +15.1% | -13.8% | +28.2% | +18.7% | -3.7% | +20.3% | +3.8% | +19.2% | +18.7% |
| 2022 | -19.4% | -33.1% | -8.8% | -21.6% | -15.5% | -9.4% | -24.9% | -15.1% | -12.4% | +0.9% | -11.9% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | +26.9% | +21.4% | +18.7% | +13.7% | -14.1% | +4.9% | +3.6% | +4.8% | +15.8% | +14.3% | +21.2% | +22.0% |
| 2020 | +16.3% | +43.6% | +7.3% | +18.4% | -3.4% | +16.0% | +30.8% | +13.9% | +3.6% | -14.3% | -5.2% | +15.8% |
| 2019 | +28.9% | +35.2% | +22.3% | +23.7% | +9.1% | +18.2% | +7.7% | +22.3% | +25.5% | +12.1% | +25.5% | +14.4% |
| 2018 | -6.2% | -3.9% | -5.6% | -12.2% | -13.6% | -12.1% | -17.3% | -24.6% | -18.3% | -12.5% | -14.8% | +5.9% |
| 2017 | +19.4% | +28.2% | +25.1% | +13.1% | +36.0% | +19.1% | +21.8% | +6.6% | +12.5% | +7.6% | +6.5% | +27.9% |
| 2016 | +9.5% | +7.5% | +13.4% | +19.5% | +0.4% | +0.4% | +3.3% | -12.3% | +6.9% | +14.4% | +0.1% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | -0.7% | +5.7% | -2.2% | -5.7% | -7.2% | +9.1% | +2.4% | +9.4% | +9.6% | -4.9% | +4.9% | -5.0% |
| 2014 | +11.4% | +13.4% | +7.5% | +3.5% | +1.3% | +7.1% | -4.8% | +52.9% | +2.7% | -2.7% | +1.1% | +29.9% |
| 2013 | +29.6% | +38.3% | +26.5% | +37.0% | +2.9% | +56.7% | +0.7% | -6.8% | +25.5% | +14.4% | +18.1% | +9.0% |
| 2012 | +13.4% | +15.9% | +7.3% | +14.6% | +22.9% | +22.9% | +9.4% | +3.2% | +29.1% | +5.8% | +13.4% | +25.7% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | -1.8% | +5.5% | -5.5% | -20.0% | -17.3% | -11.0% | -21.7% | -14.7% | -5.6% | -17.5% | -24.6% |
| 2010 | +12.8% | +16.9% | +11.0% | +25.3% | +5.3% | -3.0% | +21.9% | -14.3% | +16.1% | +9.0% | -5.4% | +17.4% |
| 2009 | +23.5% | +43.9% | +18.8% | +25.2% | +52.0% | +19.0% | +49.7% | +80.0% | +23.9% | +22.1% | +21.0% | +81.0% |
| 2008 | -38.5% | -40.5% | -33.8% | -34.8% | -48.3% | -42.1% | -40.7% | -65.4% | -40.4% | -31.3% | -44.3% | -52.5% |
| 2007 | +3.5% | +9.8% | +6.4% | -2.8% | +39.3% | -11.1% | +32.3% | +96.7% | +22.3% | +3.8% | +6.8% | +47.2% |
| 2006 | +13.6% | +9.5% | +16.3% | +17.0% | +34.2% | +6.9% | +4.0% | +130.4% | +22.0% | +10.7% | +15.1% | +46.7% |
| 2005 | +3.0% | +1.4% | -0.6% | +3.3% | +4.5% | +40.2% | +54.0% | -8.3% | +27.1% | +16.7% | +21.3% | +42.3% |
| 2004 | +9.0% | +8.6% | +3.2% | +17.0% | +13.2% | +7.6% | +10.5% | -15.4% | +7.3% | +7.5% | +6.9% | +13.1% |
| 2003 | +26.4% | +50.0% | +25.3% | +45.4% | +34.9% | +24.5% | +29.2% | +10.3% | +37.1% | +13.6% | +15.7% | +72.9% |
| 2002 | -23.4% | -31.5% | -16.8% | -21.6% | -18.2% | -18.6% | -9.5% | -17.5% | -43.9% | -24.8% | -37.3% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | -13.0% | -21.1% | -7.1% | +1.0% | -24.5% | -23.5% | +37.5% | -20.6% | -19.8% | -15.8% | -20.3% | -17.9% |
| 2000 | -10.1% | -39.3% | -6.2% | -4.2% | -11.0% | -27.2% | -50.9% | +51.7% | -7.5% | -10.2% | -2.7% | -20.7% |
| 1999 | +19.5% | +85.6% | +25.2% | +19.6% | +68.8% | +36.8% | +82.8% | +19.2% | +39.0% | +17.8% | +46.7% | +63.8% |
| 1998 | +26.7% | +39.6% | +16.1% | -3.5% | -6.3% | -9.3% | +49.9% | -4.0% | +18.5% | +14.6% | +32.0% | -16.5% |
| 1997 | +31.0% | +21.6% | +22.6% | +20.5% | -20.3% | -20.9% | -42.4% | +30.2% | +46.7% | +24.7% | +36.8% | +18.6% |
| 1996 | +20.3% | +22.7% | +26.0% | +14.8% | +33.5% | -2.9% | -26.2% | +65.1% | +27.4% | +11.6% | +22.8% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | +34.1% | +39.9% | +33.5% | +26.2% | +23.0% | +0.7% | -14.1% | -14.3% | +7.8% | +20.4% | +14.1% | -20.8% |
| 1994 | -1.5% | -3.2% | +2.1% | -3.2% | -31.1% | +13.2% | +18.6% | -22.3% | -7.0% | -10.3% | -7.9% | +17.4% |
| 1993 | +7.1% | +14.7% | +13.7% | +17.0% | +115.7% | +2.9% | +27.7% | +6.8% | +46.6% | +20.1% | +38.7% | +27.9% |
| 1992 | +4.5% | +15.5% | +4.2% | +16.4% | +28.3% | -26.4% | +11.1% | +166.6% | -2.5% | +14.2% | +3.4% | +37.0% |
| 1991 | +26.3% | +56.9% | +20.3% | +43.7% | +42.1% | -3.6% | -12.2% | +129.4% | +13.5% | +16.3% | +16.5% | +82.1% |
| 1990 | -6.6% | -17.8% | -4.3% | -21.5% | +6.6% | -38.7% | -23.5% | — | -21.9% | -11.5% | -21.8% | +34.6% |
| 1989 | +27.3% | +19.2% | +27.0% | +14.2% | +5.6% | +29.0% | +0.3% | — | +33.7% | +35.1% | +27.5% | +16.9% |
| 1988 | +12.4% | +15.4% | +11.9% | +22.4% | +16.7% | +39.9% | +75.1% | — | +32.3% | +4.6% | +32.9% | +50.7% |
| 1987 | +2.0% | -5.3% | +2.3% | — | -10.3% | +14.6% | +90.0% | — | — | +2.1% | -28.1% | -15.7% |
| 1986 | +14.6% | +7.4% | +22.6% | — | — | +43.9% | +66.9% | — | — | +18.9% | — | -0.6% |
Price returns from daily closing levels. Index price returns exclude dividends. The S&P 500's full record back to 1928, with intra-year declines, is on the S&P 500 annual returns page.
Reading across a row and down a column
A row is a year the whole world lived through, and the interesting rows are the ones where the columns disagree. Global markets are correlated in crises and much less so in between — the years everything is red are few and easy to name, while the years one market is up 30% and another is flat are the majority. Anyone reasoning about diversification from the crisis years alone is looking at the one sample where diversification helps least.
A column is a market, and the columns are the reason this table is not simply twelve copies of the same story. The Nikkei's long descent from 1990 and the Shanghai Composite's two enormous spikes are visible from across the room, and neither has an analogue in the US columns. An investor who formed their intuitions about how stocks behave from one column would find several of the others unrecognisable.
Two cautions before comparing the compound rates in the summary table. They cover different periods, and an index whose published history happens to begin at a low point will look better for a reason that has nothing to do with the market — which is why each index's own start year sits next to its figure. And these are local-currency returns: a dollar investor in the Nikkei experienced something quite different from a yen investor in the same index over any period the yen moved sharply, and nothing here is hedged or converted.
All of these are price returns, so dividends are excluded throughout. That understates every column, but not evenly — the FTSE 100 and several European indices have carried noticeably higher dividend yields than the Nasdaq over this period, so the gap between price and total return is wider for some of these columns than for others.
Questions people ask about this
- Are these returns in local currency or US dollars?
- Local currency, which is what each index is quoted in. That matters: a Japanese investor's experience of the Nikkei and a dollar investor's experience of the same index can differ by tens of percent in a year the yen moves sharply. Nothing here is currency-hedged or converted.
- Why do the indices start in different years?
- Because their published histories do. The S&P 500 reaches back to 1928, the Nikkei to 1950, and several of the European and Asian indices only to the mid-1980s. The summary row for each index states its own first year, and no index is compared to another over a period one of them does not cover.
- Can I compare the compound growth rates directly?
- Only with care. Two indices measured over different periods are measured over different market regimes, and the one that happens to start at a low point will look better for reasons that have nothing to do with the market it represents. The per-index start year is shown next to every figure for this reason.
Sources and method
- Data
- Financial Modeling Prep — Daily adjusted closing levels and quotes, retrieved through Plutux's own data service.
- The index publishers — S&P Dow Jones Indices, Nasdaq, FTSE Russell, Nikkei, Hang Seng Indexes, Deutsche Boerse, Korea Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, BSE and STOXX each publish and maintain their own index.
- How it was calculated
- The calculation is identical for all twelve: last close of the year against last close of the prior year, from each index's own full daily series, in the currency the index is quoted in. No currency conversion or hedging. Dividends are excluded. Each index's first year is its own, and is printed beside its figures.
- How often it changes
- Regenerated from the full daily history about once a year; the date it runs through is at the top of the page.
- Citing this page
Free to quote — please link rather than copy the table.
Plutux. "Annual returns of twelve world indices, compared." Data through 28 Aug 2026. https://plutux.ai/ko/resources/tools/world-index-annual-returns
Historical figures for information only — not investment advice, and not a forecast.
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