Market Overview
On Monday, Wall Street experienced a rise, while the FTSE 100 saw a decline as the holiday week commenced. US markets were buoyed by technology stocks rebounding from previous volatility, with investors anticipating a potential “Santa rally.”
UK Economic Data
In contrast, the FTSE 100 dropped after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the UK’s GDP grew by only 0.1% from July to September. This figure remained unchanged from earlier estimates but was lower than the growth seen in the second quarter. The ONS also adjusted the growth estimate for the three months leading to June, reducing it from 0.3% to 0.2%.
Expert Insights
Lindsay James, an investment strategist at Quilter, noted that the GDP data reinforces the slowing trends of the UK’s economy in the latter half of the year and signals a struggle to replicate earlier successes. She expressed skepticism about the recent budget measures contributing significantly to economic growth and emphasized the need for previous government actions to start yielding results, or for geopolitical tensions to ease to revive global trade.
Market Predictions
James concluded that the outlook for the first half of the next year might not improve, with recession risks rising. Other economic data expected this week includes the delayed US third-quarter GDP figures and the consumer confidence index from the Conference Board.
Market Performance
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The FTSE 100 fell by 0.3%.
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Germany’s DAX remained stable.
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France’s CAC 40 dropped by 0.4%.
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The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the day with little change.
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The pound strengthened by 0.5% against the dollar, reaching $1.3453.
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In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose by 0.6%, while the Dow Jones increased by 0.5%.
