📈 Modest U.S. Stock Market Growth Amid Strong Global Gains in First Half of 2025

According to S&P Global, U.S. stock market capitalization rose by a modest 4.7% between December 2024 and June 2025. In contrast, global markets gained an average of 12.2%, with most other major markets outperforming. Top performers included South Korea (+38.7%), Spain (+34.0%), Germany (+28.3%), Italy (+27.4%), Brazil (+27.0%), Mexico (+24.7%), Sweden (+21.7%), and the European Union overall (+21.6%).