Market Summary Week Ending 13/11/2022

Following interest rate increases in both the UK and the US, attention this week was on the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the United States, as well as the results of the mid-term elections with a close contest expected between the Republicans and Democrats for control of both the House and Senate. 

On Thursday, data released from the US showed that the Consumer Price Index rose less than expected in October with an overall increase of 0.4% for the month. This was an indication that while inflation is still a threat to the US economy, inflationary pressures may be starting to cool. 

As a result of the news, US markets rallied in the second half of the week, with Thursday’s trading bringing large gains to all three of the major indexes. For the week, this led to an overall gain of 4.00% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a 5.61% gain for the S&P 500 and a 7.67% gain for the Nasdaq.   

In the UK, the FTSE 100 also rallied off the back of US CPI inflation data, climbing 1.08 per cent to 7,375.34 points on Thursday, however it closed Friday 0.78% down at 7,318 following the news that UK GDP fell 0.20% for Q3, fueling further recessionary fears. For the week, this meant a slight decline of 0.23% overall.  

Looking forward to this week, the major focus in the UK will be the release of CPI data on Wednesday (16th) with economists expecting further increases for October.  

The data released will have an impact on the performance of the markets and will be a major driver in the decision for any potential changes in interest rates when the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meets in December.  

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.