Global stocks see bullish 2004
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European stocks finished with their first annual gains since 1999.
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(CNN) -- Global stocks have had their best year since 1999, with more gains expected in 2004 as investors regain confidence about economic growth prospects.
After declines in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the three big markets of the United States, Europe and Japan finished 2003 in the black.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average put on 25.3 percent for the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 50 percent as technology issues came back to life.
Chip giant Intel put on 105 percent for the year and General Motors rose 45 percent.
Those gains helped end Wall Street's worst bear market in 60 years as investors finally overcame fears of recession, terrorism and instability. But more volatility is expected in 2004. (Full story)
"The chance of a nasty shock or event remains with us for a year or so yet," HSBC Asia chief economist Geoffrey Barker told CNN.
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts the United States will grow 4.2 percent in 2004, while Japan and the Euro area will both register 1.8 percent growth. (Full story)
Compared to the United States, Europe's stock market gains in 2003 were more muted, with the pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300 adding 11.7 percent for the year. London's FTSE 100 rose 13.6 percent.
Like the United States, European technology stocks were among the biggest gainers as the industry recovered from the excesses of the tech bubble that burst in 2000. Alcatel and Ericsson posted strong advances.
Royal London Asset Management is forecasting a rise of 15 percent in European shares in 2004, according to Reuters news agency. Most of that will be in the first half of the year, with investors betting on interest rate rises after June.
Even before the Parmalat scandal unfolded in December, the OECD was warning the risk to recovery included the vulnerability of some European businesses to balance sheet problems.
Despite touching a 20-year low of just 7607.88 in April, Japan's Nikkei 225 average ended the year at 10,676.64, up 24.5 percent to post its first gain since 1999.
Stellar year in Asia
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Thailand's stock market posted a stellar performance in 2003.
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It was a stellar year generally for Asian markets. Thailand led the region to its best performance for four years, with only China's Shanghai B-shares posting a loss for 2003. (Full story)
Bangkok's SET composite index put on a massive 117.3 percent for the year as confidence returned among investors in Southeast Asia. Thailand is expecting GDP growth in 2004 of better than 6 percent.
India grabbed second spot in Asia. The BSE-30 in Mumbai finished 2003 with a gain of 73 percent to 5838.96, within sight of its February 2000 record close of 6150.
Last year's star performer, Pakistan's KSE-100, jumped another 65 percent to finish at 4471.60. Close behind was Indonesia's Jakarta composite, which rose 62.8 percent to end the year at 691.895.
Like Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore also finished in the black for the first time in four years, with gains of almost 35 percent for the Hang Seng index and 31.6 percent for the Straits Times index.
Among individual blue-chip shares, South Korea's big exporter Hyundai Motor put on 82 percent for the year, Taiwan's chip foundry TSMC rose 61 percent and Singapore Telecommunications finished 58 percent higher.
Shanghai's B-share market disappointed overseas investors with a decline of 7 percent; in contrast, the Shenzhen B-share index put on 45 percent.
Taiwan's Taiex gained 32.3 percent and South Korea's Kospi put on 29.2 percent. Samsung Electronics posted a hefty gain of almost 44 percent as the global tech sector recovered.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 put on just 9.7 percent to 3299.8, but that was still its best gain since 1999. Resources heavyweight BHP Billiton led the way among blue chips with a gain of 20 percent.
In New Zealand, the Top 50 rose 25 percent, with the market's biggest stock, Telecom New Zealand, putting on 18.5 percent.
Toyota on top
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Sony shares fell 25 percent in 2003.
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Among Japanese blue-chips, Toyota Motor finished with a gain of 13.4 percent and recaptured the mantle of Asia's biggest stock, with a market capitalization of 13.06 trillion yen (about $119 billion).
It edged out mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo, which put on 11 percent for the year and ended with a market capitalization of 12.194 trillion yen (about $111 billion).
But consumer electronics leader Sony fell 25 percent for the year and dropped from fourth to 13th place by market cap.
In the tech sector, big gainers included Yahoo Japan, up 289 percent, and Internet investor Softbank, up 142 percent.
UFJ Holdings, one of Japan's big four banks, staged a spectacular recovery in 2003 after the disappointments of recent years, putting on 329 percent to 515,000 yen.
Among other Asian exchanges, Manila's PSE composite rose 41.6 percent and Malaysia's KLSE composite rose almost 23 percent.
