Negative end to year as shares drop

DESPITE the usual low levels of trading for the year’s final full-day of share activity, negative sentiment governed any movement that did occur, with most of the major exchanges showing slight drops.

Yesterday got off to a less-than-promising start with the main Asian markets of Tokyo and Hong Kong showing mixed fortunes; the former falling by over 1% closing with the US markets showing a continuation of their recent trends of thin trading. This despite positive jobless figures, which detailed how America’s unemployment levels are now at their lowest in over two years.

In Europe, each of the main exchanges were down slightly as European stocks dropped by their highest amount in a month, mainly driven by speculation that the rally of this year has pushed valuations on equities beyond the outlook for both corporate and economic growth.