The TSX was only slightly higher Friday, but Canada's benchmark stock exchange posted a healthy 14.3 per cent gain for 2010 overall.

The benchmark index closed eight points higher on the day at 13,433. With the slight gain, the index was well above the 11,746 level for the end of 2009.

Traders cheer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones gained almost 11 per cent in 2010. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)

"I would call it pleasantly surprising," said Gareth Watson, director of Canadian equities portfolio advisory group at Scotia Capital.

"My expectation was that returns for the TSX this year would have been high single digits, and we're looking now at double digit, over 14 per cent, [which] from that perspective, exceeded my expectations for the year."

The index's 14 per cent gain in 2010 compares favourably to those of its major competitors. London's FTSE 100 finished up 9.5 per cent higher in 2010, closing Friday at 5,899.94. Frankfurt's Dax index fared better, finishing at 6,914.19, up 16 per cent on the year.

In developing economies, Argentina's Merval index was up 52 per cent this year. Peru's mining-heavy stock index was even better, up 64 per cent as it moved in lockstep with the commodity boom.

"A lot of this speculation out there in commodities is being based off the fact that these emerging markets will continue to grow quite well," Watson said.

India's Sensex jumped 17 per cent in calendar 2010 as the Indian economy continued to expand. The major market of China's Shanghai index closed up 1.8 per cent on Friday, but surprisingly ended the year about 14 per cent lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 4.5 per cent higher for the year.

After the devastating plunge the markets took after the fall of Lehman Brothers in late 2008, the TSX was kind to investors in 2009 who had the courage to buy in. The main index was up 31 per cent last year, its best showing in a calendar year since 1983.

The loonie finished at $1.0054 US on Friday, up by roughly 5.5 per cent on the year 2010. In 2009, the dollar opened at 82.1 cents in January before closing the year at 95.15 cents.

In 2009, crude oil made huge gains, from a low of $33.98 per barrel in February to $79.36 at the end of the year. The February crude contract in New York slipped slightly on Friday to $91.41, but many analysts expect to see $100 per barrel in the near future.

The TSX's gold sector was ahead about 25 per cent for 2010 as the precious metal smashed through record highs a number of times during 2010 as investors looked for a safe haven amid inflation worries and as a hedge against weaker currencies. The February bullion price hit $1,420.60 US an ounce on Friday, slightly off its recent high of $1,432 US.

New York markets were fairly flat on the day, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 7.8 points to 11,577, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 10 points to 2,652, and the S&P 500 index was virtually unchanged at 1,257.

For the year, the Dow was up almost 11 per cent from the 10,428 it ended at in 2009, while the S&P was up almost 13 per cent from the 1,115 it opened at in 2010. The TSX has now outpaced the S&P 500 for seven consecutive years.