Asia stocks end 2011 sharply lower

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks were poised to end their first losing year in three on Friday, having shed nearly a fifth of their value as Europe's debt crisis and financial turmoil took a toll on investors' risk appetite, driving them to safer assets such as the U.S. dollar and gold. European stocks were set to edge higher on the last session of a dismal year that saw them tumble about 12 percent, while U.S. futures pointed to a weaker opening on Wall Street later in the day, with the S&P 500 looking set to end the year pretty close to where it began. ...