Emerging-market stocks are back on top in April after punishing Iran selloff. Why they can keep on climbing.
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Emerging-market stocks are back on top in April after punishing Iran selloff. Why they can keep on climbing.Emerging-markets stocks are still beating their U.S. rivals this year, even after a recent bout of volatility triggered a punishing but mercifully short-lived selloff. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF IEMG, a U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund that tracks an index of emerging-markets stocks, has surged 13.7% in 2026 through Tuesday, FactSet data show. That trounces the 3.2% gain for the S&P 500 SPX so far this year. The S&P 500 had briefly outperformed during the March selloff, but since the start of April, the emerging-markets ETF has been back on top, according to FactSet data. In developed markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index JP:NIK has also outperformed U.S. rivals so far this month. In both cases, these gains have helped propel them ahead of the U.S. stock market so far this year.About the AuthorChristine Idzelis is a markets reporter at MarketWatch and is based in New York.A Dow Jones CompanyCopyright © 2026 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved.