The FTSE 100 gained 0.3% on 2009's last day of trading to close at 5,412 as banks and miners lifted the market.
The rise left the index up 22% for the year, and 54% on its lows of March. But over the last decade, it is down 22%.
Over the past year, the best performing sector has been miners, with Kazakhmys, Vedanta, Fresnillo and Xstrata at the head of the pack with gains of up to 474%.
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Worst performers were banks, with RBS down 41% and Lloyds 19% lower.
Read the latest stock market news and charts here.
Europe
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 finished the year on 3,936; and the German Xetra Dax was at 5,957.
US
In the US, the Dow Jones finished at 10,428 - a gain of 18.8% for the year; the S&P 500 was at 1,115 - up 23.5% for the year; and the Nasdaq Composite was at 2,269 - a gain of 43.9% in the last 12 months.
Asia
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1% to 10,654, while the broader Topix index added 0.9% to close at 915. In China, the Shanghai Composite index fell 1% to 3,243; and the CSI 300 closed down 1.1% at 3,535.
Commodities
Brent spot was trading at $79.01 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $80.35. Spot gold was trading at $1,110 an ounce, silver was at $17.12 and platinum was at $1,486
Currencies
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.6151 and against the euro at 1.1265. The dollar was trading at 0.6976 against the euro and 92.85 against the Japanese yen.
UK news
And today, a survey has found that confidence among Britain's finance directors is on the rise, despite the fear of a 'double dip' recession. Almost 80% of finance directors questioned by Deloitte thought that banks would sustain the financial recovery, but 48% remained worried about a 'double dip'.
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