The Bloomberg World index is a cap-weighted index made up of nearly 5,000 stocks from around the world (including US stocks).  While the S&P 500 has been hitting new all-time highs over the last week, the Bloomberg World index remains 7% below highs that it last made back in January 2018.

Below is a chart showing the ratio of the S&P 500 to the Bloomberg World index since the World index’s inception back in August 2003.  While the World index outperformed the US for five years in the mid-2000s, the US has been outperforming since the end of 2007, which includes both the Financial Crisis and the bull market that has been in place since the 2009 lows.

Along with the relative strength chart between the two indices above, below we show the price change of the S&P 500 versus the Bloomberg World index since August 2003.  Through today, the S&P was up 203% versus a gain of 142% for the Bloomberg World index.

Since the November 2016 election, the S&P 500 is up 40% versus a gain of 26% for the Bloomberg World index.  Notably, the World index kept up with the S&P through early 2018, but weakness for the World index in mid-2018 and a failure to bounce back as much as the US this year has left the World index well behind.  Start a two-week free trial to one of Bespoke’s premium equity market research services.