When you think of the stock market, you most likely think of the stocks in your home country.

Sure, folks in the U.S. might know about the European market. They might be aware of the opportunity in Chinese stocks. But those usually aren't the first things that come to mind for U.S. investors.

This is known as "home-country bias." It's the tendency for investors to own too much of their own country and not enough of the rest of the world.

In many cases, folks will only own stocks from their home country. And that narrow focus can cause you to miss out on amazing opportunities.

That's the case today. One under-the-radar market is breaking out to new 52-week highs. That strong trend should continue to propel it higher... But it's outside the U.S.

So you'll need to put your home-country bias aside if you plan to take advantage of today's opportunity.

Let me explain...

The U.S. stock market continues to hover near all-time highs. But many global markets haven't followed suit.

One exception is a place you've certainly overlooked... the Dutch stock market. That's right. The Netherlands is one of the few markets breaking out right now.

We can see the recent breakout through the iShares MSCI Netherlands Fund (EWN). It's a broad market fund designed to track the overall Dutch market.

After a big move in August, EWN hit a new 52-week high this month. Take a look...

If you're like most investors, you probably haven't considered putting money to work in Dutch stocks. It's not one of Europe's major markets – but it'd be foolish for us to ignore it right now.

This market has seen a solid uptick in recent weeks. It's up 7% since bottoming in mid-August. And the recent rally drove it to a new 52-week high.

Since 2001, similar events have led to even more upside two-thirds of the time. And significant outperformance is possible from here. Check it out...

The Dutch market hasn't produced great long-term results... returning just 3% a year. You'd be much better off waiting to buy after a time like today...

Similar instances led to 4% gains in six months and a solid 8% gain over the following year.

Now, these aren't massive returns... You won't make triple digits in a short window of time. But buying the Dutch market now provides real opportunity for outperformance in an under-the-radar market.

More important, it's a chance to break your reliance on home-country bias. You'll miss out if you limit yourself to investing in only one stock market... There's more happening in the world than just the U.S.

By broadening your scope, you'll have a much better chance of finding markets that are set to outperform. And that's exactly what's possible in Dutch stocks over the next year.

Good investing,

Chris Igou

Buying stocks that are breaking out can lead to real outperformance. And that's exactly what's happening in another market outside the U.S...

Market Notes

HIGHS AND LOWS

NEW HIGHS OF NOTE LAST WEEK

Cypress Semiconductor (CY)... chipmaker
Lam Research (LRCX)... chipmaker "picks and shovels"
Axis Capital (AXS)... insurance
PulteGroup (PHM)... homebuilder
D.R. Horton (DHI)... homebuilder
KB Home (KBH)... homebuilder
Lennar (LEN)... homebuilder
Owens Corning (OC)... roofing and insulation
Vereit (VER)... commercial REIT
Equinix (EQIX)... data-center REIT
Toyota Motor (TM)... cars
Walmart (WMT)... "World Dominator" of discount retail
Procter & Gamble (PG)... consumer goods
Celgene (CELG)... pharmaceuticals
Sanofi (SNY)... pharmaceuticals
Duke Energy (DUK)... utilities
Chesapeake Utilities (CPK)... utilities
Kansas City Southern (KSU)... railroads

NEW LOWS OF NOTE LAST WEEK

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT)... biotech
Aurora Cannabis (ACB)... cannabis
CannTrust (CTST)... cannabis
Grubhub (GRUB)... food delivery
FedEx (FDX)... shipping
Manchester United (MANU)... soccer