Statista - The Statistics Portal (2024)

The global investment market has experienced significant volatility and uncertainty in 2024. A host of ongoing events including geopolitical tensions such as the conflict in Ukraine alongside U.S. and China competition, have created widespread disruptions to supply chains, energy markets, and overall investor confidence. Soaring inflation rates have prompted central banks around the world to aggressively raise interest rates. Adding to the turbulence of the stock market with dramatic swings, major indexes have fluctuated as investors struggle with concerns about corporate earnings, the real estate market, and the trajectory of the broader economy. Compounding these issues, the cryptocurrency market has also been rocked by tumultuous values and the collapse of prominent digital assets in 2023. Following overlapping crises, financial analysts and everyday investors are monitoring developments, trying to navigate the current investment landscape.

Report on the topic

By far the two largest stock exchanges in the world are the NYSE and the NASDAQ – both located in New York. City. Taken together, the value of the shares listed on these two exchanges had a combined market capitalization of over 53 trillion U.S. dollars – more than the next eight-largest stock market operators combined. The next largest stock exchange was the Euronext located in Europe, followed by five major Asian stock exchange operators.

Stock exchanges
Stock market indices
Securities in Japan

The two most prominent financial instruments are equities and bonds. Equities (or shares) are the ownership of a portion of a company, which can then be traded. The value of this portion may fluctuate depending on the company’s performance and market conditions, making equities a potentially risky investment. Bonds differ in being a low-risk, fixed price investment where a company or government receives an amount of money to be repaid after a certain period, along with regular interest payments.

Exchange traded funds
Mutual funds
Investment funds

Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) reflects the environmental and social impact of an investment. Two main factors are driving the growth of ESG investments. First, is concern over the climate crisis, with many investors worrying that consumer sentiment will turn against companies who are not environmentally responsible. Second, is changing attitudes toward many social issues, such as worker conditions, community investment and support for diversity and inclusion.

Worldwide ESG investment
Worldwide adoption of ESG
Green bonds worldwide

While the two largest stock markets in the U.S. – the NYSE and the NASDAQ – have far larger market capitalizations than any other stock exchange, looking at trading volumes narrows the gap significantly. While still the two largest stock exchanges with 2.18 and 1.84 billion U.S. dollars of stock traded in 2023 , the third-placed Shenzhen Stock exchange is not far behind at 1.14 billion U.S. dollars. Based on trading volumes, U.S. markets top the list, followed by East Asia, then Europe.

Dow Jones Industrial Average
London Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Exchange

In addition to stocks, investors often choose to trade bonds on financial markets. Bonds offer a low risk, stable return, with the issuer paying periodical interest then the original amount upon ‘maturity’. For this reason, bonds are often traded before maturing effectively allowing investors to lock in a secure interest rate. If investors expect interest rates to fall, it makes sense to purchase existing bonds, but if rates rise, then investors lose out as new bonds issued have a higher return.

International bond market
German long-term government bond yields
Japanese long-term government bond yields

Finance & Insurance

• Financial Institutions
• Financial Instruments & Investments
• Financial Services
• Insurance

Allianz Group

Asset flow of selected fund types in the United States

Asset management industry in Europe

Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)

Banking industry in Brazil

Banking industry in Mexico

Business enterprises in China

Commercial mortgages in the U.S.

Covid-19 and investment behavior worldwide