Market Summary Week Ending 01/10/2023

It was a mixed bag for global equity markets across the week, with positive macro-economic data being released for both the US & UK. However, market sentiment remains sceptical around the future direction of the major central banks, further to the potential threat of a government shutdown in the US.

In the UK, it was a positive end to the week with data released showing that the UK economy grew slightly faster in the period since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures show that the UK economy is now 1.8% larger than it was pre-pandemic, with previous estimates showing a 0.2% decrease over the same period, in part thanks for a 0.2% growth in Q2 of this year. This latest release means that since the end of 2019, the UK has seen faster growth than many other developed nations, such as France and Germany.

Despite the strong rally seen on Friday, both the FTSE 100 & 250 suffered losing weeks, with a 0.89% and 1.71% loss respectively.

In the US, positive economic data regarding inflation was dampened by the threat of a government shutdown, after Republican House leaders failed to pass a short-term spending bill, boosting fears that Federal Lawmakers will not be able reach an agreement required to stave off a potential shutdown.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE), the preferred inflation measure of the Federal Reserve, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.1% for the month to 3.9%; better than the 0.2% increase as expected by economists.

As a result, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended the week down about 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively, with the Nasdaq bucking the trend, finishing the week around 0.06% higher in what has been a tough month and quarter for US indices.

Please note for this weekly summary, we focus on the major indices within the financial markets such as the FTSE 100 (UK) and the Dow Jones and NASDAQ (US) to provide a factual account of what has happened within a certain index. Performance figures quoted are factual from the previous week’s trading and this summary is for commentary purposes only.

The performance of these indices is not a representation of an individual fund or portfolio. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. The value of your investment can go down as well as up. You could get back less than you originally invested.