Market Summary Week Ending 16/04/2023

US Consumer Price Index data released on Wednesday 12 April showed that in the 12 months to March inflation had reduced to 5% – down from 6% for the period up to February 2023 and a long way from the peaks of 9.1% seen in June 2022.

Whist this does help slow rising prices, core inflation (which doesn’t account for energy or food prices, and the preferred metric for the Federal Reserve) has remained steady, with a figure of 5.6% for the year to March, compared to 5.5% in February. Whilst core inflation remains sticky, economists continue to predict further interest rate hikes in response.

Nevertheless, it was a positive week for the US markets with all three of the major indices registering gains. The Dow Jones had its fourth-straight positive week, rising 1.2%, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq seized their fourth positive week in five, with gains of 0.79% and 0.29% respectively.

In the UK, driven by a strong performance from the banking sector, the FTSE 100 achieved its fourth straight week of gains, rising 1.76%. This continues its strong start to 2023, with overall gains of 7% for the year to date. All the major British banks ended the week in a strong position, with the sector as a whole gaining 2.60%.

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.