When we think about the stock market, it helps to stop thinking like Americans — and start thinking like Earthlings.
It’s not the American stock market. It’s the stock market.
Yes, the U.S. is the biggest and most important piece of the puzzle. But if you really want to understand market breadth, you have to look beyond U.S. borders and see what’s happening in equities around the world.
Most investors never do this. They live and die by every tick in the S&P 500 — and that’s a huge blind spot.
If you want to get a true read on global risk appetite and trend direction, you can’t just stare at one index. You have to zoom out and look across continents.
The question we’re asking today is simple: Is the strength we’re seeing in U.S. stocks being confirmed globally — or is it just a local story?
As we discussed yesterday, it’s not just a handful of stocks driving the gains here at home. Market strength in the U.S. is broad and healthy.
But is that same participation showing up overseas?
Let’s find out.
Europe Hits New All-Time Highs
People keep telling me what a disaster Europe is.
Meanwhile, the stock market keeps telling a very different story.
I keep hearing how Germany’s been “in a recession for years.” Maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t — but German equities just hit new all-time highs last month. If that’s what a recession looks like, sign me up for more of those!
Here’s a look at the broadest measure of European equities — the STOXX Europe 600 Index. Think of it like Europe’s version of the S&P 1500 — it captures large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks across 17 different countries in the region.
It just closed the month at its highest level ever, confirming the same message we’re getting from the U.S: this is a bull market.
Also notice what’s happening in the bigger picture — Europe went nowhere for more than two decades.
So when people start warning that “stocks have gone too far” or “this can’t last,” I point them to this chart. This isn’t a bubble — it’s a multi-decade base breakout finally resolving higher.
Confirmation in Asia
Speaking of multi-decade bases — let’s talk about Japan.
After more than 30 years, Japan is finally breaking out above those legendary 1989 bubble highs. We discussed the initial breakout back in July: Hold My Sake
This isn’t an old, tired trend. Like Europe, Japan looks like it’s just getting started:
To put that 1989 mania in perspective — at the time, the value of the real estate in one park in Tokyo was worth more than all the real estate in the entire state of California combined.
That was absurd, and it took 35 years to unwind that kind of excess.
But now? We’re finally clearing those highs and moving higher — confirming what we’re seeing in both the U.S. and Europe: this is a global bull market.
And Japan isn’t alone. Let’s look at China.
Yes, it’s a very different story — but China remains a massive piece of global equity markets, and it deserves our attention.
Here’s the Shanghai Composite, breaking out of a 10-year base to its highest levels since 2015:
Across Asia — in both developed and emerging markets — we’re seeing a consistent pattern of higher highs and higher lows.
Those are not the characteristics of bear markets.
These are new uptrends, not old ones fading away.
New Highs in Latin America
We could keep going continent by continent — the story’s the same everywhere: new highs.
Take Latin America, for example.
Here’s the Latin America 40 Index Fund, which includes companies from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
Last week, it closed at multi-year highs, confirming exactly what we’re seeing across Europe, Asia, and North America: this is a global bull market.
Market breadth has been a hot topic lately.
It’s almost like investors want the market to fall. You can hear it in their tone — the frustration, the disbelief — as stocks all over the world keep making new highs.
But to really answer the question of whether participation is broadening or narrowing, you have to look beyond U.S. borders.
Remember, this isn’t just the American stock market — it’s the global stock market. The U.S. might represent roughly half the value of all global equities, but that still leaves thousands of stocks across every continent confirming the same message: higher highs, strong trends, and expanding participation.
So the next time someone tells you market breadth is weak, just remind them — we’re not just Americans. We’re Earthlings.
And from where I’m standing, the whole planet’s in a bull market.
I’m acting accordingly. How about you?
Stay sharp,
JC Parets, CMT
Founder, TrendLabs