Gold Gains Nearly 30% in 2010; Silver gained 83.7%; Copper 33%

Gold futures finished the year with a 10th consecutive annual gain amid expectations for new record highs next year. The metal closed firmly above the $1,400 mark on the last trading day of 2010 and locked in a 29.7% gain for the year, the largest in three years.
A weaker dollar boosted gold prices Friday, as dollar-denominated gold appears cheaper to buyers using foreign currencies when the dollar eases.Currency concerns have been a major factor funneling investment funds towards the yellow metal throughout 2010. Worries about the financial health of some euro-zone nations and large stimulus spending in the U.S. resulted in a particularly volatile year for both the euro and the dollar. That left investors seeking a safe harbor in gold, which is often seen as an alternative currency.
Gold also has benefited from global inflation concerns. Chinese investors ramped up their gold purchases throughout 2010 as inflation picked up, even as the government implemented a number of measures to slow economic growth and rein in prices.
Silver futures ended the year at a new 30-year high Friday, up 83.7% this year. The metal has gained from spillover investment demand as gold soared outside of some investors' budgets.The most actively traded silver contract, for March delivery, settled up 1.4%, or 42.4 cents, at $30.937 per troy ounce.
Copper ended 2010 at a record, locking in a near 33% gain for the year amid dollar weakness and thin trading volumes.

FOREX - The Dollar end 2010 on Weak Note

The dollar fell in light volume Friday, as thin year-end markets diminished trading appetite and provided little incentive to purchase the U.S. currency on the final trading day of 2010.
A spate of figures on manufacturing, home sales and unemployment on Thursday painted an encouraging picture of a gradual U.S. economic recovery. However, the data proved insufficient to help the dollar sustain upward momentum, as it slid to a new record low against the Swiss franc at CHF0.9331.
The euro was also a beneficiary of the dollar's bearish price action. In European trading hours the euro rose to a two-week high at $1.3391, changing hands around $1.3365 in early U.S. trading and up more than 2/3 of a cent from Thursday's close.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also lent the single currency some support after she said that the euro formed the basis of European prosperity and called for a strengthening of the currency. Some analysts say the U.S. currency's weakness in the waning days of the year may be a bearish indicator for 2011.
The yen remained buoyed by investment flows from Japanese exporters seeking to purchase yen for year-end positioning. Against Japan's currency, the dollar bought Y81.30, down from Y81.56 late Thursday and its weakest level in seven weeks. The euro changed hands around Y108.66, slightly stronger than late Thursday's Y108.33.
2011 demand
With ongoing concerns about sovereign debt, the dollar should remain supported in 2011, especially amid recent evidence that it remains a favored reserve currency for developing countries, some analysts say. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund released a report showing that the dollar share of developing countries’ new official reserves rose in the third quarter.

FTSE Gains 9% for 2010; DAX advanced 16%; Ibex35 went down 17%

European stock markets ended a generally solid year on a down note.
Both the U.K. and French markets fell 1.2% in a shortened final session. While the FTSE 100's close of 5899.94 left the U.K. benchmark with a gain of 9% for the year, the CAC 40 fell 3.3% over 2010 to 3804.78.
The German market was closed Friday. The DAX advanced 16% in 2010, benefiting from a remarkable rebound in the country's economy and exports over the course of the year.
The Stoxx 600 Europe shed 0.4% to 275.81, leaving it up 9% for the year. While the index has climbed 40% over the past two years, it remains 32% below its record closing high of 405.50 set more than a decade ago, on March 6, 2000.
Europe's gains for 2010 were helped by solid demand from emerging markets and a quicker-than-expected recovery in the U.S. But worries about the financial health of some of the euro bloc's 16 nations plagued several markets and banks, and will remain a key theme in 2011.
The Ibex 35, went down 17%, while Italy's FTSE MIB fall 13%.In Athens, the ASE lost 0.7% to 1413.9, bringing losses for the year to 35%. Greece was the first euro nation to receive a bailout. Ireland has since followed, and speculation has spread to Portugal and Spain.
For the year, the auto sector was the top performer in the Europe Stoxx 600 index, gaining around 44%, as investors sought stocks directly connected to emerging-markets growth.

Dow ends 2010 with 11% Gain; The S&P 500 Index rose 13% in 2010

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's yearly gain is in the books: a rise of 1,149.46 points, or 11.02%—its second annual rise in a row and fourth in the past five.
On Friday, it was a quiet ending to a positive but bumpy year, as the Dow closed up 7.80 points, or 0.07%, at 11577.51. Almost half of the 2010 climb came in the year's final month; the index rose 5.2% in December.
The Dow came close to ending 2010 at a fresh closing high for the year, if it had closed above 11585.38, it would have reached its highest close since August 2008.
The Nasdaq Composite shed 10.11, or 0.4%, to 2652.87, leaving it with a 17% gain for the year. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index edged down 0.24, or 0.02%, to 1257.64 on Friday, the S&P 500 Index rose 13 percent in 2010, bringing the advance since March 2009 to 86%.
While 2010 was positive for stocks, it was anything but smooth. Investors were spooked by events such as the May 6 "flash crash" and ongoing worries over the financial health of several euro-zone governments. A new $600 billion stimulus plan from the Federal Reserve and improving economic data helped the market recover from a summer slump, with stocks ultimately reaching highs not seen since before the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008.