LIVE MARKETS-US investors get most bang for buck beyond Wall St

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US INVESTORS GET MOST BANG FOR BUCK BEYOND WALL ST

The S&P 500 .SPX has gone from strength to strength this year, powered by the scorching rally in anything to do with artificial intelligence and the productivity and efficiency gains this technology promises to bring.

But given the near-9% drop in the value of the dollar this year, U.S. investors that have put their money into stock markets overseas have fared far better than those that remained faithful to Wall Street.

The S&P is up around 17% this year, marking a third successive annual gain. Yet any U.S. investors putting their money into Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX, would have pocketed returns of 28%, much as they would have if they'd bought Japanese yen to buy shares in Tokyo's Nikkei .N225.

London's FTSE 100 .FTSE has returned 26% in dollar terms, as Zurich's SMI .SSMI.

While non-U.S. investors may have missed out on the S&P's rally this year - in euros, it's up just 4%, while in pounds it's up 10% - they've done fairly well in their home markets. In local currency terms, the Nikkei is the top performer, up 27%, followed by the FTSE, up 18% in sterling terms.

(Amanda Cooper)

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