China Stock Market Doubled In Value In 2006, Says Thomson Financial

China was the best performing major market of any in 2006, with the Shenzhen A share market rising 101.7% this year, according to the annual review of stock market performance by Thomson Financial. It was not the only one of

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China was the best-performing major market of any in 2006, with the Shenzhen A-share market rising 101.7% this year, according to the annual review of stock market performance by Thomson Financial.

It was not the only one of the BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia and India are the others – to do well. The Russian market rose by 65.8%, the Brazilian market by 40.9% and the Indian market by 36.6%. All returns are measured in dollars, and include dividends.

The UK and US stock markets were up by much les. In dollar terms, the FTSE 100 delivered a total return of 26.3%, making it the 56th best- performing market among the 93 tracked by Thomson DataStream. The 14% gain in the S&P 500 ranked 84th.

Some exotic stock markets did best of all. Peru was the star performer, with a gain of182% gain, mainly on the back of rising metal prices. Cyprus was second, with a return of 157%.

The worst performers included the Middle East stock markets, whose bubbles were pricked by the decline in the oil price. The market in Jordan fell 34%, but Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Bangladesh also produced negative returns.

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