How are major world indices performing?

Revealed: How the S&P 500 is performing against major indices around the world in 2023

• On average, the Hang Seng, DAX 30, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and the S&P 500 increased by 6.89% since the start of 2023.
• The S&P 500 grew by 11.75% since the start of 2023, while the FTSE 100 only grew by 0.95% in the same timeframe.
• The Hang Seng has lost 13.30% in value since the start of 2023.

 
Research by price comparison website finder.com analysed the performance of five major stock market indices around the world to find out which has performed the best since the start of 2023. Check the performance of the five indices in this live chart.

As of 28 September, the S&P 500 has gained 11.75% since the start of 2023 and is the second most successful index in the study, behind the Nikkei 225. The highest recorded value of the S&P 500 so far in 2023 was on 31 July, when it had increased by 20% since the start of 2023.
 

The Nikkei 225 and the DAX 30 also performed well

 
The Nikkei 225 was the only index in this study to surpass the S&P 500’s performance in 2023, returning 25.66% since the start of the year. The Japanese index consistently increased in value since the first market day of 2023, becoming the index with the highest growth from this study. On 3 July, the Nikkei 225 was up 31.25% compared to 3 January 2023, marking its highest value since the start of 2023.

The German DAX 30 was the only other index in this study that maintained a higher value than its starting point for the entirety of 2023. The index is currently up 8.43% since the beginning of the year, behind the Nikkei 225 and the S&P 500. The German index had its best day on 28 July 2023, where it was 17.06% up since the start of 2023. 0
 

FTSE 100 trails behind other global indices

 
The FTSE 100 has had less impressive growth since the start of 2023 – the British index only increased by 0.95% in value, compared to the start of the year. Its highest value was fairly early on in the year, with the FTSE 100 recording a 6.09% growth on 20 February 2023, compared to the start of the year. The FTSE 100’s worst day of the year was on 7 July 2023, when the index lost 3.93% compared to its value at the start of the year.
 

Hong Kong index Hang Seng is the only one to record negative returns

 
The worst-performing index in the study was the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng, after starting the year off exceptionally strong. The Hang Seng index performed better than the other indices in this list in the first month of 2023, returning 12.63% on 27 January, compared to its value on 3 January.

The next index to reach at least 12.63% was the DAX 30, however, it took the German index nearly 3 months more than the Hang Seng, only surpassing the milestone on 18 April.

The Hang Seng has fallen in value since 27 January and never recovered, reporting a lower overall value for most of the year compared to its value at the start of 2023. The index is currently down 13.30% compared to 3 January. 



 
Methodology:
 
Finder has taken the prices of each of the 5 indices at close on the first market day of 2023 and compared their growth over time since the start of the year. The 5 indices in the study are the S&P 500, the Nikkei 225, the FTSE 100, the DAX 30 and the Hang Seng.

Note: Some of the indices have had more market days than others, due to different national and religious holidays. Current growth is taken from close prices on the 26th of September, the live chart self-updates past this date.