Market Summary Week Ending 21/01/2024

Global markets were buoyed this week, particularly in the US. The Nasdaq indices reached a record high on Friday, following boosts in the major tech stocks. Investors have begun to regain faith in equities, with fresh data released showing that US consumers had growing confidence in the economy, and that the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation had now ‘’turned a corner’’.

The University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers showed an increase of 21.4% from January 2023; at its highest level since July 2021. An increase in confidence of the prospects of a soft landing for the US economy and further reductions in the rate of inflation throughout the remainder of 2024 has contributed to this increase.

As a result, all three of the major indices registered gains with the 0.25% and 1.82% respectively for the Dow Jones and S&P 500, whilst the Nasdaq was the highest performer with 3% over the trading week.

In the UK, inflation figures released on Wednesday (17th) showed that the rate of inflation for the year to December 2023 was unexpectedly up by 0.1% to 4%, with a rise in tobacco and cigarettes being the main driver.

Consequently, both the FTSE 100 and 250 suffered overall losses on the week of 1.72% and 1.63% respectively, as investors digested this shock increase and what it means going forward for the possibility of interest rate decreases going forward by the Bank of England.

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.