Stocks to see in New Year near record highs after banner 2021

Stock markets dipped on Friday in thin trading but were set to see in the New Year with double-digit gains for 2021, while oil prices retreated from $80 a barrel following their biggest annual rise since 2009.

The US dollar, which has had its best year since 2015 with a 6.7 per cent rise, was steady against most major currencies.

With several markets in Asia and Europe closed on Friday, trading volumes were thin and most markets directionless. Britain’s FTSE 100, an underperformer throughout 2021, fell 0.4 per cent. Wall Street futures pointed to a lower open, extending a late pullback on Thursday.

The MSCI World Index was marginally higher and remains just 0.5 per cent off record levels. The index has surged 17 per cent in 2021, its third consecutive year of double-digit gains.

A growing number of countries are reporting record daily cases of COVID-19 because of the Omicron variant, and New Year celebrations were being scaled back by uncertainty about the spread of the virus.

But after initially tumbling in December, stocks have recovered over the holiday period as investors became reassured economies could handle the surge in Omicron cases, and are heading back towards record highs.

On the last day of the year, Brent crude futures dropped 0.8 per cent to $78.87 a barrel and US crude oil weakened 0.94 per cent $76.27 a barrel.