The London market got off to a subdued start on the last day of 2010, but is still up 10% this year, heading for its second consecutive annual increase. The FTSE 100 index briefly moved into the black and later traded down some 10 points at 5961.
Mining groups, which rose in the last couple of days, were among the biggest fallers on the blue chip index this morning, led by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
Gains were led by financial stocks Old Mutual, Aviva and Investec, as well as retailers Kingfisher, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
The British benchmark is still 11% below its June 2007 high, before the financial crisis triggered a selloff in stock markets worldwide.
Germany's Dax, which is closed today, ended the year 16% higher, helped by the economy bouncing back strongly during 2010. In contrast, France's CAC is likely to stay in the red, down some 2.5%. It traded some 18 points lower this morning at 3832, a fall of nearly 0.5%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% yesterday, its last trading day, and posted a 3% fall for 2010. The Chinese stock market suffered an annual decline of nearly 15%, one of the worst-performing stock markets around the world, despite China's booming economy. The Shanghai market has been haunted by interest rate rises - two in just over two months - and new limits on borrowing.
