In the first four months of 2025, international stocks have outperformed U.S. equities by a wide margin, marking the best relative start to a year this century and the strongest four-month relative return in 25 years. Year-to-date returns show ex-U.S. developed markets represented by the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) up 6.6%, the broader ex-U.S. market ETF (VEU) up 4.5%, and ex-U.S. small caps (VSS) up 1.3%, while emerging markets (VWO) declined 1.6%. In contrast, the U.S. total stock market ETF (VTI) has fallen 10.4%. The S&P 500 has experienced a 10% decline in its first 73 trading days, marking the fifth worst start to a year historically, and has briefly entered bear market territory amid new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. These tariffs have contributed to increased investor nervousness and a 14% drop in the S&P 500 since February. The U.S. dollar index has also declined over 8% in 2025, its worst start since 1995. Among G7 countries, Germany and Italy have led stock market gains with returns of 17.5% and 17.1% respectively, followed by France (9.3%), the UK (9.1%), Canada (2%), and Japan (1.5%), while the U.S. lagged with a negative 10.4% return. Sector-wise, U.S. technology stocks have declined 8.3%, small caps are down 9.8%, and Japan's market fell 10.7%. Top-performing S&P 500 stocks year-to-date include CVS Health (+49.9%), Newmont (+48%), Philip Morris (+35.6%), and Cencora (+27.6%). The best-performing growth stocks in 2025 include MP (+69%), StoneCo (+54%), and Thermo Fisher Scientific (+42%). The divergence between global equity markets continues to widen, with protectionist trade policies cited as a key factor impacting U.S. market performance.