China stocks are top performers in 2014, oil depressed

Investors look at a screen showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai. The stand-out global performer was China, where the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen looked set to end 2014 with gains near 50%, the biggest among the world's major markets - AFP Photo.

SYDNEY: Asian markets were ending 2014 on a cautionary note on Wednesday as worries about Greece's future in the euro zone served as an excuse to take profits on crowded trades, though Chinese stocks seemed destined for their best year in five.

The US dollar ran into selling on its recent gains, while the euro got no respite as a host of European bonds yields scored all-time lows after a shockingly sharp fall in Spanish inflation.