A storming start to the year saw equity markets gain more than 6% in January and recover 60% of the loss made during 2011, according to S&P Indices.
Of the 46 countries covered by the company’s World by Numbers report, Portugal was the only one to see a decline in growth, of 3.42%, which S&P Indices attributed to the higher rates it must pay to sell its debt.
The fastest-growing market was Egypt, which gained 25%, an encouraging result that may signal a recovery from a difficult year in which a revolution wiped off the half the value of its stock market.
The emerging markets generally grew by nearly 12% in January, according to the S&P Global Broad Market Index, with India exceeding 20%, Brazil and Russia exceeding 14% and China close to 11%.
The emerging market equity figures come days after data firm EPFR noticed a rise in interest in the asset class, which accounted for nearly half the $8.6 billion (€6.5 billion) of net inflows absorbed by equity funds in the week ending 25 January.
Developed markets grew at 5.42% overall, with the US and UK lagging below the average but several European countries beating it. Austria and Germany led the European nations with growth of nearly 10% each.
©2012 funds europe
