Swedish investors usually have Sweden and the USA as our main markets when we buy shares and we rarely look beyond our own borders. What we must remember is that the neighboring countries also performed well and in some cases better than Sweden. Here is a comparison of which of the Nordic stock exchanges have fared the best over a long period of time. And how big is the Swedish stock market compared to the others?
Which of the Nordic stock exchanges has performed best?
I think it would be interesting to know which of the Nordic stock exchanges has actually done the best historically. For that we need to know which indexes to compare with. The SIX Return Index ( SIXRX ) is well known at home and shows the average performance on the Stockholm Stock Exchange including dividends. When it comes to our neighboring countries, we have similar indices to keep an eye on:
If we compare the development between these from 1995 until 2024, it looks like this. The result is stated in CAGR, i.e. annual average growth rate including reinvested dividends. The Danes are the clear favourites, but the three other exchanges are pretty evenly matched
| Exchange | Total return (CAGR) 1995-2024 |
|---|---|
| Denmark (OMXCGI) | 16.2% |
| Norway (OSEAX) | 11.9% |
| Finland (OMXHGI) | 11.6% |
| Sweden (SIXRX) | 11.4% |
There are probably many people now thinking: “Yes, but the reason is of course Novo Nordisk”. Of course, there is also a large measure of truth in that statement.
Novo Nordisk has risen from the Nordic region’s largest market value of just over SEK 500 billion to now Europe’s most valuable at almost SEK 6,000 billion. This can be compared to Denmark’s entire GDP.
On the other hand, the Danish stock exchange was still number one if we remove the development of the last 10 years (2014-2024) when Novo Nordisk had its most brutal development.
But yes, Novo Nordisk is a giant on the Danish stock exchange and we clearly have to keep this in mind when we look at the total return. The fact is the fact and Denmark remains the winner. Having said that, Novo Nordisk is the share in the Nordic region that has historically performed best. In the last 10 years it has made 1,000% in total return.
Which of the Nordic stock exchanges is the largest?
There are many more listed shares on the Stockholm Stock Exchange than there are on other exchanges:
| Exchange | Market capitalization SEK billions | Number of companies |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 10,294 | 362 |
| Denmark | 7,882 | 123 |
| Norway | 3,740 | 186 |
| Helsinki | 3 131 | 136 |
I do focus mostly on Swedish and US stocks. However started buying into Aker BP recently.
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