The US stock markets on Wednesday ended in positive territory for the year, the first advance since the boom years of 1999.
However optimism about the next 12 months is subdued on worries about the falling dollar and the US budget deficit.
The Dow Jones average gained 25% over the year. This was it's first yearly gain in four years. The technology led Nasdaq leaped 50%.
Earlier on Wednesday, European markets had also broken their three-year losing streak, with London's FTSE ending the year at with a gain of 13.6% for the year. Dublin's ISEQ index recorded a 23% gain in 2003.
Meanwhile Tokyo's Nikkei ended the year 24.4% ahead.