European shares finished the day flat but have ended the year with remarkable gains, considering the lowly position they were in at the start of the year.

European markets dipped around 22% at the start of the year as the global economy was still grappling with the recession. But as economic conditions began to improve, the markets staged a comeback since March and have now finished strongly on the year.

The German DAX ended the year up nearly 24% to finish just below the 6,000 mark while the French CAC threatened the 4,000 milestone after surging 23% - the biggest annual increase since 2005.

Today, trading was thin as most of the markets were closed, including Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The French market finished early; ending flat at 3,936.

In company news, Chargeurs, distributor of wools and textiles, said it expects to report a loss of €48m in 2009 and wants to tap shareholders for at least €22m in a rights offer.

Fiat's luxury sportscar brand Maserati expects to sell around the same number of cars in 2010 as it did this year, when sales dropped by 40%, unit's head Harald Wester said to a German magazine.

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