Market Summary Week Ending 07/01/2024

Following the brief uplift in performance seen by the markets in late December, commonly known as the ‘Santa Rally,’ Global Markets welcomed 2024 on a more subdued note, with losses across the majority of the major indices.

Geopolitical rhetoric appeared to weigh on investor sentiment as 2024 trading began. Over the previous weekend, prior to the upcoming elections in Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that, “the reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability, increasing tension in an already escalated situation”.

In the U.S., figures released show that the economy added more jobs than anticipated in December, with payrolls growing by 216,000. Economists had expected a gain of 170,000 for last month. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% in another sign of continued labour strength, and will also be a major consideration for the Federal Reserve and their decision regarding potential interest rate reductions throughout 2024.

The UK major indices finished the week with losses of 0.56% and 2.41% for the FTSE 100 & 250, respectively.

In the US, the three major averages notched their first negative week in 10, with the Nasdaq suffering the biggest decline at 3.25% — its worst weekly performance since September. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones dropped 1.52% and 0.59%, respectively.

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.