Major Markets Performance

Favorable news regarding COVID-19 vaccines occupied headlines during the month. More countries rolled out their vaccination programs and more vaccines were approved. Global equity markets generally had a good month. The Morningstar Global Markets Index ticked up 2.6% in February. In the U.S., the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq indexes all notched all-time highs higher during the month. The Morningstar US Market Index ended February 3% higher. Many Asian markets recorded gains. India and Taiwan were among the stronger performers, climbing around 6% (proxied by their respective Morningstar indexes in U.S.-dollar terms). Chinese equity markets had a strong first half of February (Morningstar China Index +11.7% for the month to 17 February), but the gains were subsequently washed away. The Morningstar China Index ended the month 0.6% lower.