iShares MSCI Norway ETF

ENOR

Market cap $40.9M

Now in the home stretch of Q3, international stocks have had a banner year in 2025. Whereas the United States' S&P 500 is currently up 12.7% year to date, the MSCI All World Ex. US ETFs have gained well over 24% in that same span. Italy (EWI) is up over 45% on a year to date basis. That puts it on pace for the ETF's largest annual gain on record (it began trading in March 1996) if it holds.

It has been 225 days since President Trump's Inauguration on January 20th, and the S&P 500 entered today up 8% since the last close before the Inauguration. Speaking of the G7, the US has been the worst market among these seven developed nations since Inauguration Day in January. Along with being the second-best performing country ETF since Inauguration Day, Vietnamhas easily been the best performer since April 8th with a gain of 77.5%.

A surprise Israeli strike on Iran sent oil prices soaring. This may prompt sharp reactions in country ETFs such as ENOR (upside) and INDY (downside).

ENOR hit a 52-week high on June 12, gaining 33.1% from its low, as Middle East tensions fuel strength in Norway's energy-heavy market.

Since President Trump's second term began with the Inauguration on January 20th, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is down 16.5% compared to a 6.2% drop for the all world ex US ETF (CWI). It's early, but the rest of the world is solidly beating US markets so far under Trump 2.0. The average country ETF is down exactly 10% in the two and a half trading days since Trump's "Liberation Day," and the only two down less than 5% are India (INDA) and Turkey (TUR).

Norwegian equities, have outperformed global and European stocks, surging by 15% in 2025. Both ENOR and NORW track the same index - the MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index, but NORW is cheaper to access, and ENOR is more rewarding from a yield angle. Norway's GDP growth is expected to improve to 1.8% in 2025, with strong consumer conditions and potential rate cuts boosting the spending power of highly debted households.

Topping the list and outperforming in that span have been emerging market countries like Brazil and India, which are both up well over 6.5%. International ETFs don't only have momentum on their side, but they also offer higher yields than the US at the current moment. Across all 22 ETFs, the average yield stands at 3.25%.

Shanghai CSI 300 has gone from a 52-week low to a 52-week high in only a couple of weeks. Other than China and Hong Kong, Australia is the only other international market starting the week at a 52-week high.

US equities have outperformed the rest of the world for a long time now. While the US is up 58% on a total return basis during the current bull market, the rest of the world is up 13.5 percentage points less at +44.5%. Looking at the international dividend ETF over a longer time frame, over the last five years, it's up 20.6% in price and more than double that on a total return basis.

Equities here in the US have gotten off to a weak start this month, with the S&P 500 down modestly over the past couple of sessions. The US-traded ETF that tracks Mexican stocks is down 8.3% month-to-date and 12.3% year-to-date.