US crown slips as its stock market rivals ride a huge bull run

2025 was the year the US was finally knocked off its perch as the world’s best performing stock market, with emerging markets staging a stunning comeback.

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For pension and Stocks and Shares ISA investors, it was a reminder that global markets rarely stand still, and that spreading money around can pay off.Emerging market equities have soared by 25% so far in 2025, closely followed by European equities, which rose 23%.

The UK wasn't far behind, growing almost 20%, double the speed of the US, new figures from Fidelity International show.