Market Summary Week Ending 23/07/2023

In the UK, data released on Wednesday 19 July showed that inflation fell by more than expected, with CPI coming in at 7.9% for the month of June, against analysts’ expectations of 8.2%.

This reduction in the rise in prices will ease pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates further at their next Monetary Policy Committee on 3 August. Analysts are now pricing in a 0.25% increase in the base rate, rather than 0.5% previously expected.

As a result of this positive economic data it was a good trading week for both major indices. The FTSE 100 and 250 made significant gains across the week of 3.10% and 3.40% respectively.

In the US, investors continued to monitor corporate earnings for Q2 with over 75% of the S&P 500  reporting earnings in excess of analysts’ expectations; with positive performances from Johnson & Johnson and toy makers Mattel, following the commercial success of the Barbie film released last Friday (21 July).

Across the trading week it was a mixed performance for the major US indices. The S&P 500 added 0.69% and the Dow gained 2.08% – a second positive week in a row for the two indexes, whilst on the other hand, the Nasdaq fell 0.57% for the weekly period.

 

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.