Index / ETFs

Global stocks posted a gain in May, even as emerging markets were engulfed in volatility and political developments in Italy triggered losses in Europe in the second part of the month.

The violent market pullbacks that many traders had gotten used to living without are back. The STOXX® Global 1800 Index plunged 7.5%1 between Feb. 2 and Feb. 8, its steepest five-day decline since August 2015.

Rather than slow down, the record-breaking rally in global equities accelerated in the first month of 2018, with little clouding investors’ increasing conviction that the world economy is on firm footing.

As we reviewed the outlook for equity markets in 2018 in a recent article, UBS highlighted the disruptive trends of digitalization and robotics in its forecast, pointing out that technology stocks may continue their march higher.

Global stock indices extended their record-breaking rally in December to end 2017 with the biggest annual returns since 2013.