In a drastic reversal of fortunes, the stock markets of developed countries such as Japan and the United States were big winners in 2013, while stock markets of most developing countries — previous top performers in 2012 — barely rose with some even registering negative returns.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, for example, was the world’s 4th best stock market in 2013, surging an unprecedented 56.72% in the past 12 months ending December.