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Top and Bottom of the Investing Heap

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By Lawrence Delevingne

Top and Bottom of the Investing Heap

Almost without exception, stock markets have fallen this year as the global economy reels from ripples of the U.S. financial crisis. Year to date through Oct. 31, the U.S. S&P 500 is down 34.03%. and other benchmark indexes have followed suit as battered banks, plummeting property values, and shaken consumer confidence have caused widespread selling.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 is off 32.21%, and the country is likely moving into its first recession in 17 years. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 is down 43.97% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off 49.78% as their export-driven economies face declining global demand. Even previously fast-growing Brazil, where the BVSP is down 41.68%, and Russia, where the RTS Index has plunged 66.24%, have suffered from the effects of skidding prices for energy and commodities.

Indeed, only three primary stock indexes are in positive territory for 2008, all of them in emerging markets. Of the remaining top six "best" performers, the others are in the red. All of them are volatile—and relatively good performance for 2008 doesn't necessary mean sound economic footing. The Ghanaian exchange, for instance, is illiquid, dominated by a few companies, and driven up by high expectations for commodity prices and oil extraction.

The worst performers have suffered devastating losses, each down more than two-thirds of their value. Iceland's OMX—the hardest-hit in the world—has lost nearly 90% of its value this year. Click on to see the dozen best and worst performing principle stock indexes around the world.