Market Summary Week Ending 08/01/2023

Following the slowdown of activity through the Christmas and New Year break, UK markets reopened this week with a sense of optimism that the trading year ahead would bring better results than 2022.

It was a buoyant start for 2023, with strong performances from the Energy and Mining sectors due to an increase in both oil and commodity prices across the week. Furthermore, the FSTE 100 was bolstered by the US Jobs market report showing better than expected results against economists’ initial predictions. As a result, over the first trading week of the year the FTSE 100 added 2.5% and finished at its highest level since 2009.

In the US markets rallied on Friday after the December jobs report, which showed that wages grew more slowly than anticipated, increasing 0.3% on the month against expectations of 0.4%. An economic activity survey also showed signs that inflation may be starting to reduce and indicated that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are having their intended effect.

This boosted investor optimism about the potential for reduced rate increases, or even no increases at all, in the next Federal Reserve meetings in January (31st/1st February) and March (21st/22nd).  As a result of this rally The Dow Jones and S&P 500 finished up 1.5% whilst the Nasdaq advanced across the trading week.

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.