Saltydog Investor runs the numbers to find out which sectors and individual funds stood out last month.

Most major stock markets went up last month. The figures don’t reflect market movements following thebombing of Iran by the US and Israel because the attacks took place on Saturday 28 February.

The FTSE 100 performed particularly well in February, rising by 6.7%. This extends a rally that saw it gain more than 20% last year and a further 2.9% in January.

Across the Channel, there were solid gains in continental Europe. The French CAC 40 rose by 5.6%, while Germany’s DAX increased by 3.0%.

In the US, the picture was more mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average made a small gain of 0.2%. Like the FTSE 100, it has meaningful exposure to finance, defence and aerospace, healthcare and consumer goods, but also holds some large US technology companies that have struggled. The broader but more growth‑oriented S&P 500 fell by 0.9%, while the tech‑heavy Nasdaq lost 3.4%.

The standout performer was Japan, with markets making significant gains following last month’s election. The Nikkei 225 climbed by 10.4%. Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and India’s Sensex fell by 2.8% and 1.2% respectively.

In terms of overall sector performance, February looks like the best month we’ve seen since last September. The numbers sometimes get revised slightly during the first few days of the month, but at the moment 32 out of the 34 sectors that we regularly monitor are showing gains.

Looking back, November was particularly disappointing, with only 15 sectors making progress. Since then, there has been a steady improvement.

_{Past performance is not a guide to future performance.}

The only two sectors that failed to make positive returns in February were Financials and Financial Innovation, down 1.2%, and UK Smaller Companies, which slipped by 0.2%.

Leading the way was the Japanese sector, up 11.2%, followed by Infrastructure, with a one-month gain of 8.6%. The two Asia-Pacific sectors had a strong month, rising by 8.1% and 8.0%, as did the Global Emerging Markets sector, up 7.4%.

_{Data source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.}

Japan also dominates our list of leading funds in February. Five of the top 10 funds came from the Japan sector, including Invesco Japanese Smaller Companies UK Z Acc, which ended the month up 20.0%. There were also three funds from Asia Pacific ex Japan and one from China/Greater China.

Only one fund from January’s top 10 reappears this month. Barings Korea I GBP Acc, from the Specialist sector, topped the table in January with a one-month return of 25.4%. In February, it moved to second place, adding a further 19.8%.

Saltydog Investor’s top 10 funds in February 2026

_{Data source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.}

The funds investing in gold and precious metals, which were among the best-performing funds in December and January, and also throughout 2025, have dropped out of the top 10. However, they still went up last month and, with the escalation of the war in the Middle East, I wouldn’t rule out a comeback this month.

For more information about Saltydog, or to take the two-month free trial, go to www.saltydoginvestor.com