Source: FT.com

Stocks in the US are on course for their worst annual falls since the Great Depression when trading closes today, while in Asia some markets ended the year on Tuesday by notching up their worst performance since records began.

The S&P 500 has already fallen 39.3 per cent on the year, its worst run since a drop of 47.1 per cent in 1931, while the Dow has lost 34.7 per cent, its worst annual decline since it fell 52.7 per cent in the same year.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index ended 2008 on Tuesday by recording a 42.1 per cent fall, well above its last biggest annual loss of 38.7 per cent in 1990, while Korea’s Kospi index ended the year with a loss of 40.7 per cent.

It was a similar story in Europe. In London, the FTSE 100 was heading for its worst annual fall since it was created in 1985, having already lost 32.4 per cent to date, well above its previous biggest yearly loss of 24.5 per cent in 2002.

In the rest of Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 has already suffered an annual decline of 45.7 per cent, its worst year since the index was constituted in 1986, a result that is not expected to improve before the last day of trading ends today.

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