Summary of stocks in Ghana and around the world

GHANA: Only three of the major indexes tracked by Bloomberg showed positive gains with Ghana’s All-Share index leading the pack rising 6o per cent, according to the news agency. The rise in the index was sparked by an offshore oil discovery and government spending on roads, Bloomberg said. The benchmark index in Tunisia the Tunis SE Tunidex rose 10.6 per cent and a second index in that country rose marginally.
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ICELAND: The OMX Iceland 15 index was the worst of the major indexes tracked by Bloomberg plunging 94.4 per cent as the economy collapsed. Three of the country’s largest banks were taken over by the government as a result of their failure arising from foreign debts.
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CHINA: The benchmark CSI 300 index fell about 66 per cent in 2008, its first annual decline since being instituted in April, 2005, according to Bloomberg. The index has more than doubled in each of the previous two years. The overheated economy cooled causing share price drops for Yunnan Yuntianhua, a fertilizer and chemical producer as well as Yunnan Copper, Air China, Aluminum Corp. of China and Huludao Zinc.
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BRITAIN: The FTSE 100 index fell 31.3 per cent, its worst drop on record. The index was developed in 1984, according to Bloomberg. The credit crisis triggered a plunge in bank and commodity companies. The FTSE 100 did better than Germany’s DAX index, which was down 40.4 per cent, and France’s CAC 40, which dropped 42.7 per cent.
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JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 fell a record-setting 42 per cent in 2008 reflecting both global financial turmoil and a surging yen, which adversely affected its export competitiveness. The yen rose 19 per cent against the U.S. dollar and 22 per cent against the euro. The worst performers companies included Nikon, Mazda Motors, Nissan Motors and Pioneer.