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Markets: Good riddance to 2002
LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets ended the year on a positive note on Tuesday in very light trading ahead of the New Year's break, although all of the major bourses were down drastically from the start of 2002. Investors are now counting their losses after a year of dismal company earnings, sluggish economic growth, corporate scandals, soaring crude prices and geopolitical tensions from Iraq to North Korea. London's FTSE 100, which closed at 12:30 GMT, was up 1 percent to 3,940.4 on the day but down 24.5 percent from 5,217 at the start of the year. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.3 percent to 3,063.91, ending 34 percent lower from the 4,624.50 level where it began 2002. The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was up 0.8 percent at 857.15. The benchmark FTSE Eurotop index ended down about 33 percent from 1,261.06 at the beginning of 2002 -- declining for the third year in a row. Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax, which finished the trading year on Monday, closed up 1.9 percent at 2,892.63. For the year, the index was down 44 percent from its starting point of 5,160.10. All major markets will be closed on Wednesday for the New Year's Day holiday. "Most investors are battered and bruised after a rough 2002 and are going into 2003 in a pessimistic mood,'' Anais Faraj, a global strategist at Nomura, told Reuters. "The big unknown is if and when there will be war with Iraq and this uncertainty will keep a lid on equities through the first few months of next year.'' Geoff Miller, senior investment manager at Exeter Asset Management, expects stocks to recover some of their losses in 2003. "Fundamentally, we don't believe the market is bad value and we don't believe the global economy is going to slip into recession. We don't see huge upside either but we should make steady progress," he told Reuters. "We haven't ruled out a fourth year of losses completely but I think it's highly unlikely. In order for the market to fall from here for a fourth year you would have to see a deterioration of the global economy or another September 11." Among the stocks notching up end-of-year gains was UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which rose 3.9 percent to 1,192 pence -- adding to Monday's gains following a court ruling in favour of one of its patents. (Full story) Oil stocks were also higher, even as crude futures prices fell from their peaks after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Count ires said it would fill any supply shortfalls caused by the month-strike in Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil producer. (Full story) BP (BP) was up 0.7 percent to 427 pence and Shell Transport & Trading (SHELF) -- which owns 40 percent of Royal Dutch/Shell Group -- added 0.7 percent to 409 pence, while Royal Dutch -- which owns the remainder -- was down 0.8 percent to 41.95 euros in Amsterdam. "Over the short term the outlook for oil majors is relatively easy given the relatively high price of cruse. Medium-term performance will be determined by events in the Gulf," Pinnace De Coene, an equity manager at Fortis Investment, told Reuters. In the U.S. on Tuesday, major indexes fell in early trading, marking the end of a turbulent year for stocks, as investors reacted to a weaker-than-expected reading of consumer confidence. Full report At 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 29.68 points to 8303.17, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 4.39 points to 875.00 and the Nasdaq composite slipped 3.16 points to 1336.38.
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