U.S. equities outperformed as the Iran conflict escalated because energy shocks hit import-dependent economies harder, while U.S. markets benefit from domestic production, resilient earnings in technology sectors, and strong capital inflows during periods of global uncertainty and volatility
Sharp declines in Japanese and South Korean equities reflect a macro shock driven by energy risk, currency volatility, and systematic deleveraging. Whether selling continues depends on oil prices, FX stability, and global semiconductor sentiment—factors that will determine if risk appetite quickly stabilizes or deteriorates further.
World-Wide Wednesday: Examining the Near-term Pressure on South Korea and Japan Read More »
South Korea and Japan have outperformed on structural tech leadership, corporate governance reform, and supportive macro policy. Semiconductors and industrial exporters anchor earnings momentum, while improving capital returns and attractive valuations position EWY and EWJ as compelling vehicles for diversified international equity exposure.
World Wide Wednesday: Why South Korea and Japan Are Leading Read More »
International equity leadership is broadening decisively. Emerging markets are benefiting from dollar relief, improving fundamentals, and renewed capital inflows, while European financials are shedding their value-trap label as higher rates, stronger balance sheets, and reforms drive durable earnings power globally.
Worldwide Wednesday: EM Equities Lead, DM Banks Continue an Impressive Run. Read More »
December 17, 2025 Crosscurrents have defined equity trading in November and December. Concerns about rich valuations and circular investing in the AI trade has triggered selling in domestic Mega Cap. Growth stocks while the recent Fed rate cut has supported lagging cyclical stocks and commodities prices. The upshot has been rotation away from domestic Growth
Worldwide Wednesday: Domestic Risk-off Impulse Benefitting DM Equities Read More »
December 3, 2025 Given some signs of rotation away from domestic AI majors, we wanted to take a closer look at why German shares have been soft on performance in the near-term after they saw heavy inflows early in the year when US sentiment soured. German equities entered 2025 with unusual strength. Through the first
November 19, 2025 South Korea’s equity market has been one of 2025’s strongest global performers, driven overwhelmingly by its central role in the AI hardware and semiconductor supply chain. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) has become the bottleneck in large-scale model training, and SK Hynix—whose stock has surged more than 200% from its prior-year levels—has emerged as
Worldwide Wednesday: Examining South Korean Equity Outperformance Read More »
October 15, 2025 We talked last week about strength in EM Asian Technology shares, particularly in Korea and Taiwan. Those exposures continue to hold up well despite some near-term risk-off sentiment around the AI trade. The flip side of the coin is how investors should think about positioning for potential corrections as investors have begun
Worldwide Wednesday: Core Europe Remains a Key Defensive Exposure for Equity Investors Read More »
October 8, 2025 Emerging markets (charts below), particularly across Asia, have been the bright spot in global equities this year. The rally reflects a combination of macroeconomic tailwinds, strong earnings from leading technology exporters, and renewed investor confidence in the region’s long-term growth story. Companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), Wiwynn, Alibaba, and Tencent
Worldwide Wednesday: Emerging Markets, Emerging Leadership Read More »
September 10, 2025 In our last Worldwide Wednesday column on August 6, we remarked that some deterioration in US stock market breadth (upside participation at the stock level) was weakening and some continued rotation into ex-US exposures was likely. That dynamic shifted rather quickly as Fed chairman Powell came out with clear dovish remarks at
Worldwide Wednesday: When the Long AI Trade is On, EAFE Lags Read More »
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