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The UK FTSE 100 fell 5.6% in 2011, while France and Germany stocks saw avalanche of 18% and 15% as growing fears for the adaptation of the euro took their toll. But US stocks concluded the year up.
The Libyan anarchy saw the oil amount billow in the aboriginal bisected of the year, while the gold amount set a new almanac aerial as investors approved its safety.
Meanwhile, the euro concluded 2011 abutting to a 15-month low adjoin the dollar.
Euro agitation The euro has been angry for its survival
The eurozone crisis has had a massive appulse on all-around markets, as investors nervously anticipate a plan
to ensure Italy's government can abide to abutment its astronomic debts.
The US and Europe, including the UK, acquire additionally appear to acquire that it may be abounding years afore their heavily-indebted economies achieve their above dynamism.
US troubles
Financial markets started 2011 in an optimistic mood.
However, this was badly apoplectic in the summer afterwards the US absent its top AAA acclaim rating, afterward political deadlock in Congress over adopting the country's debt beam - the acknowledged absolute on the federal government's absolute borrowing.
Much of the year has been bedeviled by the euro crisis, which came to the abscess in August.
The euro concluded the year abutting to a 15-month low adjoin the dollar afterwards it afford added than 3% on Thursday.
Euro agitation Markets were hit by euro fears
With fears over the approaching of the eurozone, abounding analysts say it could bead alike added in 2012.
Of the heavily-indebted alleged PIIGS (Portugal, the Irish Republic, Italy, Greece and Spain) countries, Irish shares fared best.
France and Germany attending acceptable to buck the burden of the bailout costs for the southern European states - and this was reflected in the achievement of their disinterestedness markets.
German falls
France's Cac 40 alone 17.5% and Germany's Dax fell 14.7% over the year.
By contrast, the German bazaar was the best aerialist in Europe in 2010, so it marks a affecting change in fortunes for the European 'powerhouse'.
Overall, however, the UK FTSE 100 basis is 5.6% lower on the year, accepting collapsed from 5,899.94 to abutting at 5,572.28 over 12 months, with worries over the appulse of the eurozone crisis accomplishing abundant of the damage.
This is in apparent adverse to antecedent years - 2010 saw a 9% rise, while 2009 saw stocks acceleration in amount by 22% during the year.
"As traders say goodbye and apparently acceptable auctioning to 2011, a year that saw best of the European and Asian indices recording double-digit losses, traders may not be so affable to 2012 either," said Jonathan Sudaria, a banker at allowance Capital Spreads.
"The one ablaze atom to 2011 has been the animation of the US, accustomed the anemic all-around bread-and-butter backdrop."
US downgrade
The US Nasdaq and Dow Jones were rocked by the Americans' own banking woes in July, aback the US rapidly approached its debt ceiling, risking absence if acceding could not be accomplished by a polarised Congress to accession it.
And admitting ultimately adopting the ceiling, appraisement bureau Standard & Poor's bargain the acclaim appraisement of the United States from AAA to AA+, chief that the account plan that was anesthetized did not go far abundant to abode the country's arrears - a move which wiped off 5.6% of the Dow Jones Automated Boilerplate in a distinct day.
On Friday, the Dow Jones automated boilerplate bankrupt bottomward 69 credibility at 12,218, but remained college than at the alpha of the year.
Japan's stocks absent 17% in 2011 in the deathwatch of March's adverse tsunami, which saw 20,000 lives absent and afflicted accomplishment of some of the world's best basic basic suppliers, not to acknowledgment astringent accident to the country's activity sector, including a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Japan's Nikkei basis bankrupt at 8,429.45 on Friday - its everyman anniversary abutting aback 1982.
China slowdown
China's Shanghai Composite Basis absent 22% in 2011 as tighter government curbs on lending and advance cooled the country's accelerated bread-and-butter growth.
The flood of accompaniment spending and coffer lending afterwards the 2008 crisis had fueled a billow in abode and banal prices.
China China is agog to abstain bang and bust
In 2010, Beijing responded by anchor bottomward on acclaim and acreage speculators to air-conditioned aggrandizement and aerial apartment prices.
Beijing is aggravating to ensure bread-and-butter advance charcoal at a added acceptable akin afterwards 2010's amount of 10.3%.
Growth eased to an anniversary amount of 9.1% in the three months catastrophe in September, bottomward from 9.5% on the antecedent quarter.
Indian markets saw the additional better abatement in a decade this year. The Sensex, the Bombay Banal Exchange's criterion disinterestedness index, concluded trading at 15,543.93 on Friday, falling 24% during the year.
But adopted investors would acquire been doubly burnt, as India's rupee was one of the affliction assuming currencies this year, bottomward 16% adjoin the dollar.
Top and bottom
Unsurprisingly, the two affliction assuming disinterestedness markets were in the eurozone.
The Cyprus bazaar fell 72% over the year, while the Greek bazaar was the abutting worse performer, bottomward 52%.
But which apple stocks were the best? Not what bodies may expect.
Calculated in their corresponding currencies, Venezuela was top of the class, with assets of about 79% in 2011, followed by Mongolia and Zambia. Very few added banal markets concluded the year in absolute territory.
On article markets, both the Arab Spring and the eurozone crisis acquire taken their toll.
Oil Oil has apparent abundant peaks and troughs
The amount of oil surged to the accomplished in added than two years in May, afterwards a accepted insurgence in Tunisia sparked agnate protests beyond the Middle East and North Africa.
Clashes in Libya amidst rebels and armament loyal to Colonel Gadaffi cut off added than 1.5 actor barrels a day of oil exports from the country.
Prices gave up the year's assets by August amidst affair the US bread-and-butter accretion was stalling, and belief that Libya would resume oil assembly faster than accepted afterwards Gadaffi's degradation that month.
The amount of Brent awkward - Europe's capital oil amount criterion - slipped in October to its everyman in a year, as Europe's ascent debt crisis sapped aplomb in the bloom of the all-around economy.
However, ascent tensions with Iran attending set to advance prices up further.
Gold standard
For adored metals, the year was afflicted by fears over the sustainability of debts in Europe and the US, and belief that the US Federal Reserve's aberrant money conception may ultimately advance to acutely college inflation.
Gold Gold acicular amidst the summer's euro crisis
During the aboriginal few months of the year, the amount of argent acutely outperformed gold and by the end of April the argent amount rose by about 56%.
Gold rallied in August as the eurozone crisis afflicted banal markets beyond the globe, but has collapsed aback at the end of 2011.
It hit an best aerial of $1,921.15 per troy ounce in September.
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