FTSE 100

As 2016 comes to a close, Reuters has compiled a list of the biggest winners and losers of the year from across the globe.  Of course, after global equities started out the year on a weak note, in the closing weeks of 2016 computer algos investing professionals have rarely seen a stock they didn't want to buy more of.  That said, currency traders with exposure to the Egyptian pound or Nigerian naira didn't make out quite so well.  And then there were the Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

One day after the biggest drop in US stocks in over two months, taking the Dow ever further from the "promised" Dow 20000, global stocks struggled as they tried to close out 2016 on a positive note. The dollar dropped the most in two weeks, sliding alongside bond yields, while oil retreated from its highest close in 17 months as investors prepared to close out a volatile year for financial markets. European stocks slid from a 2016 peak, and extended losses for 2016 after briefly going green for the year.

Despite the FTSE 100 soaring to new record highs, Britons are holding onto their cash in a sign that they may be hunkering down in the face of economic uncertainties, according to the British Bankers Association.

As Bloomberg reports, personal deposits grew an annual 4.8 percent in November, data compiled by the BBA show. They increased by 32.4 billion pounds ($39.7 billion) in the first 11 months of the year, outstripping the 19.8 billion-pound growth in the same period of 2015.

And while FTSE 100 breaks to new record highs today...

Global markets continued their levitation with the UK returning from vacation, pushing the MSCI Asia Pacific Index higher for the first time in seven days, while oil headed for the longest winning streak in almost seven years ahead of the promised OPEC production cut which is set to begin in just days.

European stocks halted two days of declines, with the Stoxx 600 fractionally in the green and Italy’s bonds climbing after Monte Paschi requested a bailout and Italy pledged to provide support for its other ailing lenders. S&P futures were little changed among extremely thin volumes while Chinese stocks dropped amid concerns on higher borrowing costs. Oil slid, while gold advanced; bitcoin soared to multi-year highs, rising above $900.