World stock markets savor 2006 gains

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2006

NEW YORK (AFP) — World stock markets saw a return to good times in 2006, with record highs, huge profits and a whiff of the heady days not seen since the dot-com boom. In the last 12 months, investors overlooked high oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty and economic imbalances to drive leading indices to levels last seen in the champagne-fueled years at the turn of the century.

In New York, the Dow Jones blue-chip index rose above 12,500 points for the first time in its history in the final week of 2006. In London, Paris and Frankfurt leading indices hit their highest levels since shortly before the dot-com collapse. Markets in Asia have shown similar remarkable performances, with Hong Kong's key Hang Seng index breaking through 20,000 points for the first time on Thursday,...