EAFE Index

A way to judge the performance of the major stock markets outside of North America.

"EAFE" stands for "Europe, Australasia, and Far East." The index tracks the stock performance of major developed markets outside the U.S. and Canada.

The index is compiled by MSCI and covers 21 countries in the developed world. Most of these are in Europe. In fact, despite its global flavor, 15 of the 21 countries in the EAFE cover European markets. This includes the usual suspects of the U.K., France, and Germany, as well as smaller players like Austria, Finland, Spain, and Portugal.

In Asia, the EAFE index includes markets in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. The "Australasia" part refers to Australia and New Zealand. Israel is the lone representative market from the Middle East.