International stock markets performance in 2008.

The year 2008 was for the global equity markets the worst in history. Capital outflow reached record 14 trillion dollars. The crisis of the financial system and the worst recession since 1970, froze investor confidence. MSCI index of global shares in the year fell by a record 44%.

One of the worst performance posted stock market in Russia. Benchmark RTS Index closed the year 72% lower. The second worst result in the world has seen China's stock index, the SSE Composite lost a record 65% after the boom in 2006 and 2007 brought the growth of over 300%.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones index ended the last trading day a profit of 2.2% over the year but lost 34% of which was the worst loss since the Great Depression in 1931. Only two titles, retailers Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Mc Donalds (MCD), closed the year in positive numbers. Laggard of Dow Jones Index became a General Motors (GM), its shares fell by 87%.

European shares finished last trading day in profits but for the whole year with the worst loss of several decades. Paris CAC-40-year deleted 43% of the value and was the weakest performance of 20 - year history, the German DAX-30 index lost 40.4% last year, the Italian MIB-30 48.5%, Spain's Ibex-35 even 47.5%. In London's main index lost 31.3% FTSE 100, it was the deepest decline since its establishment in 1984, after in 2007 grew by 3.8%.

And shares in Asia suffered in 2008 a record loss. In Tokyo showed the main Nikkei 225 index the worst annual decline in 58-year history. December modest gains, the first since last May, haven't offset 42% annual loss after the second largest world economy fell into the recession. In Hong Kong, the main Hang Seng index recorded lost 48%, the worst since the oil crisis 70 years of last century, in India Bombay the main Sensex index lost 52%, the South African stock exchange lost 27% last year and rand depreciated almost 30%.