Global stock market - record capitalization, dominated by the US

The global stock market reached a record capitalization of $157.8 trillion in 2025, an increase of more than $25 trillion compared to 2024.

Visualcapitalist.com highlights the main stock markets in the world based on their capitalization in 2025, according to data from the World Federation of Stock Exchanges, taken over by SIFMA.

According to these figures, the United States (US) has by far the largest stock market in the world, accounting for about 44% of the global total with a total capitalization of $68.9 trillion.

The US is home to the world's two major stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. The largest listed companies in the US are traded on these two exchanges.

Over the past decade, the US's dominance in the global stock market has strengthened. The US share of global stock market capitalization has increased by more than 10 percentage points since 2012, when it accounted for about a third of the total, the cited source notes. Part of this growth has been driven by the solid performance of US-listed technology companies such as Apple, Alphabet and Nvidia.

• China and EU, almost tied

China ranks second in the world's stock market, not far behind the European Union. Both have a market capitalization of nearly $15.5 trillion. Even at that scale, each market is less than a quarter of the size of the $68.9 trillion U.S. stock market. Notably, many major Chinese companies are also listed in Hong Kong, a $6.1 trillion market.

Both Chinese and EU stocks have come under pressure as investors have been wary of geopolitical uncertainty. However, EU-listed stocks have risen nearly 40% in value over the past year as markets have reacted positively to rising German public spending and relative certainty about European policies compared with the United States.

• Other Asian Stock Market Giants

Apart from China, Asia is home to several other major stock markets, including India ($10.6 trillion), Japan ($7.6 trillion) and Singapore ($824 billion). Of the three, India had the most difficult year in 2025. Compared to an average global growth of almost 19%, Indian stocks gained only 2.5% on average. The lack of domestic champions in artificial intelligence was a significant factor. As stocks in South Korea, Taiwan and the US soared, investors redirected capital away from Indian companies.