The 11 Best Performing Stock Markets Of The Year

Most investors in the world are licking their wounds from a tough 2011.

However, the S&P 500 just turned positive for the year on Friday.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up a healthy 6%. And a couple of overseas markets rocketed even higher.

We calculated yearly returns for some 100 global exchanges to see how indexes compared to each other.

What we found: less than 15% of markets are in positive territory.

We pulled the ones that have performed the best this year. You might be surprised who made the list.

Iceland ICEX, Up 2.6%

Philippines Stock Exchange, Up 3.8%

U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average, Up 6.3%

Botswana Gaborone Index, Up 8.8%

Tanzania Stock Exchange, Up 12.0%

Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index, Up 12.8%

Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, Up 19.3%

Tehran Stock Exchange, Up 29.1%

Panama General Index, Up 29.2%

Mongolia Stock Exchange, Up 32.6%

Venezuela Caracas Stock Exchange, Up 80.8%