SHARES

SHARES Among the stockmarkets of small developed countries, Helsinki is easily the star performer in our chart. Finnish share prices have risen by two-thirds since the start of 1999. This compares with an increase of 17% in Morgan Stanley Capital International's weighted index of world stockmarkets over the same period. The Finnish bourse's performance was even more dazzling until recently, up by more than 130% in mid-July. But recent worries about slackening growth in wireless telephony have hit shares in Nokia, the world's largest mobile-telephone maker and by far Finland's biggest listed company. The firm's market value has tumbled by one-third since June; other leading Finnish shares have also dropped since June. Bourses in Reykjavik, Oslo and Luxembourg are each up by about one-quarter since the start of last year. Dublin is barely in the black, and New Zealand's stockmarket is the lone loser in our chart, down by 11%.