E Europe/FSU: Equity market performance in 2009
Overview:
After a horrendous 2008, most equity markets in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (14 of the 17 we track) posted positive returns in 2009. The strongest performers were, however, amongst those that suffered the most in 2008. In fact, the large percentage increases recorded in 2009 were from such a low point of comparison that most markets are still way below the levels that they were at the end of 2007. The first quarter of 2009 saw markets in the region drop 15% in value on average, before large positive gains were recorded in Q2 (up 34%) and Q3 (up 25%). The fourth quarter, however, saw a modest downward adjustment (3.8%). Only six of the seventeen indices rose in Q4. The largest gainers were energy exporters Kazakhstan and Russia. Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine also gained.