Global stocks have enjoyed their second-strongest start to a year since 1998, says Cormac Mullen on Bloomberg. The MSCI All Countries World index rose by 11% during the first six months of the year, second only to a 15% gain in the first half of 2019. “The global stock benchmark closed at a record on 28 June, and has risen almost 90% since its pandemic low in March 2020.”
America’s benchmark S&P 500 index enjoyed yet another strong half, gaining 14.4%, while the FTSE 100 rose by 10.9%. The rally in value stocks was not enough for the FTSE to outperform the US index, but the FTSE Small Cap index, which tracks smaller listed companies, has been a happier hunting ground, as Laith Khalaf of AJ Bell points out.
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