The MSCI All Country World Index — one of the broadest measures of the equity market — has risen 21% this year with just one trading day of 2025 remaining. Asian equities are also set for a third annual gain, and the best since 2017. A number of markets are already shut for the year, including Japan and South Korea.
While much of the attention was on equities, precious metals have emerged as one of the hottest corners in the market. Gold and silver were both set for their best annual jump since 1979. Bitcoin, however, was poised for its second annual decline in four years. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar slumped 8.1% this year, the biggest drop since 2017.
Equities climbed to all-time highs in 2025 as optimism over economic growth, corporate earnings and a looser monetary policy helped markets rebound from an April slump that was triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Still, heading into 2026, investors face elevated valuations and growing divisions among policymakers over the scope for further easing, as evidenced by Tuesday’s release of Fed’s last policy meeting.
“The overriding theme is that global stock indices have lost momentum into year-end,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, wrote in a note. “There are plenty of reasons for this, including decent returns for 2025, and investors waiting to make big trading decisions until after the Christmas break.”
Meanwhile, US stocks ended Tuesday modestly lower even after minutes from the Fed’s December meeting reinforced expectations for further rate cuts next year. Policymakers remained divided over when and how far to cut, a record of the central bank’s December meeting showed.
The minutes highlighted the divisions among policymakers, and how difficult it was for them to lower rates by a quarter percentage point earlier this month.
