Market Summary Week Ending 08/10/2023

In what was a quiet week for global markets, US economic data released on Friday drove a late flurry of activity for the US and other international markets in the backdrop of rising tension seen in the middle east over the weekend.

In the UK, data released on Friday showed that house prices continued to fall with average prices decreasing 0.4% for the month of September, as continued interest rate hikes to add further pressure on the housing market. On the other hand, large insurance firms were the winners of the week, in particular Aviva, whose shares grew 5.12% on Friday’s trading, with reports that the firm may be the subject of a takeover from international buyers.

As a result, across the trading week the FTSE 100 and 250 both recorded weekly losses of 0.20% and 1.27% respectively.

In the US, equities rallied on Friday despite the US jobs report, showing stronger than expected employment data with 336,000 jobs added to the economy in September, against economists’ expectations of 170,000. Despite this increase in economic stimulus, analysts are not expecting a further rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve at their November meeting.

As a result, it was mixed fortunes across the major US indices. The S&P 500 ended the week up 0.48%, breaking a four-week negative streak. The Nasdaq also notched a positive week, climbing 1.60%. Meanwhile in opposite fortunes, the Dow Jones closed down 0.30% for the 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.