Global stock markets were mixed Friday on 2011's last trading day and turned in heavy losses for the year after Europe's debt crisis and natural disasters battered a struggling global economy. Japan's benchmark hit its lowest close in 29 years. Benchmark oil hovered below $100 per barrel and the dollar weakened against the yen but rose against the euro. Asian traders recorded gains for the day Friday but markets in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended the year with double-digit losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, after three straight days of losses, rose 0.4 percent to 8,429.45, but it was the lowest closing since 1982. China's benchmark gained 1.2 percent to close at 2,199.42 — still, a 20 percent loss for the year. European shares were steady or slightly down in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.2 percent at 5,555.92. Germany's DAX was marginally down at 5,846.35 and France's CAC-40 was nearly unchanged at 3,127.34. Wall Street appeared headed for a lower closing, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.2 percent at 12,194 and S&P 500 futures slipping 0.2 percent to 1,255.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.2 percent to close at 18,434.39 — a precipitous slide of 19.7 percent from a year ago. Singapore's Straits Times Index closed down 1 percent at 2,646.35 — a 17.5 percent dive. Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 ended the year at 4,140.4 — down 0.4 percent on the day and 14.5 percent lower for 2011. A day earlier, South Korea's benchmark Kospi closed at 1,825.74 on Thursday — 11 percent down on its last trading session of the year Thursday. Analysts said global stocks tumbled in lockstep, suffering from the effects of natural disasters, a wobbly recovery in the U.S. — and an escalating European debt crisis that has resisted repeated measures taken by the region's governments and financial institutions. “The big reason is Europe. Europe tried to muddle through without a real solution. They can save a small country like Greece, but they cannot save a big country like Italy. Two trillion euros in foreign debt — nobody in the world has that kind of money,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.
