Global stock markets stayed steady past month despite the coronavirus pandemic. Mammoth policy easing to counter the economic fallout from the COVID-19-led lockdowns caused the rally. Wall Street has especially displayed a sturdier performance. The S&P 500 has gained 3.3% past month.

However, the beginning of the pandemic was not the same with stocks slumping into a bear market in mid-March. Meanwhile, the oil market underwent an extremely rough patch with WTI prices diving into negative territory in mid-April.

Several international economies were in a weaker position than the United States before the virus outbreak and the pandemic made matters worse. Countries like Italy and Spain just got devastated with virus victims and death toll.

In mid-April, IMF forecast that Euro Area would see a GDP decline by 7.5% in 2020 due to virus-led lockdowns with Italy and Spain  experiencing a GDP decline of 9.1% and 8%, respectively. Japan and the United Kingdom were projected to see a fall in GDP by a respective of 5.2% and 6.5%. In comparison, United States would likely see a recession by 5.9%.

The IMF projection added a decline of 1% for emerging market economies, with Russia seeing a 5.5% slump, Brazil 5.3%, Mexico 6.6% and South Africa 5.8%. Investors should note that financially weaker nations would suffer the fallout more due to rising debt and slumping currencies. Moreover, a further IMF growth forecast cut is ‘very likely’ ahead.

The above growth projections clearly explain the painful scenario for the international economies and the investing spectrum. Still some ETFs outdid the S&P 500 past month. Below we highlight those gems.

Amplify International Online Retail ETF (XBUY) – Up 21.5%

The underlying EQM International Ecommerce Index seeks to track the combined performance of a basket of non-U.S. stocks that derive significant revenues from one or more international ecommerce segments: retail, travel, and marketplace.

First Trust Dow Jones International Internet ETF (FDNI) – Up 19.2%

The underlying Dow Jones International Internet Index is float-adjusted market capitalization weighted, and designed to measure the performance of the 40 largest and most actively traded non U.S. international companies in the Internet industry that are engaged in e-commerce and e-services (read: Top ETF Stories of First Quarter).

First Trust International Equity Opportunities ETF (FPXI) – Up 16.3%

The underlying IPOX International Index is a rules-based market-cap weighted index that measures the performance of the 50 largest and typically most liquid companies domiciled outside the United States that are on the IPOX Global Composite Index.

AI Powered International Equity ETF AIIQ – Up 7.0%

This ETF is active and does not track a benchmark. The AI Powered International Equity ETF seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies in developed markets outside the United States. The fund yields about 1.40% annually.

AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright ADR ETF AADR – Up 5.7%

This ETF is active and does not track a benchmark. The ETF seeks long-term capital appreciation above international benchmarks such as the MSCI EAFE Index and the BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index. The fund yields 0.67% annually.