Indices: Fund and Morningstar

indices: Thirty-nine of the 44 fund indices increased during the calendar year, including 10 indices that increased by 10% or more, according to Market Watch. Highlights from Morningstar's 2016 year-end preliminary performance report include -- Canadian stocks had their best calendar-year performance since 2009, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index posting a total return of 21.1%. The five Morningstar Canada Fund Indices that track domestic equity fund categories all ended the year among the best performers, with increases ranging from 11.8% for the Morningstar Canadian Focused Equity Fund Index to 17.9% for the Morningstar Canadian Dividend & Income Equity Fund Index. MORN, -0.17% today released preliminary 2016 year-end performance data for its 44 Morningstar Canada Fund Indices, which measure the aggregate returns of funds in various standard categories. The fund index that tracks the purely domestic Canadian Equity category rose 17.7%, underperforming the benchmark. -- Canada's three largest sectors--financial services, energy, and basic materials--all contributed positively with total returns of 24.2%, 39.6%, and 41.2%, respectively. This was most notable in the European Equity category, where funds collectively lost 5.5% despite strong market performances in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The best-performing fund indices overall were those that track four sector-specific fund categories Precious Metals Equity, Natural Resources Equity, Energy Equity, and Financial Services Equity, up 54.0%, 41.0%, 36.1%, and 24.3%, respectively. -- Currency effects detracted from performance for most foreign-equity fund categories during 2016 as the Canadian dollar appreciated against many of the world's major currencies. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.