London, Dec 29 (EFECOM).- The London Stock Exchange closed the last session of 2023 with an increase of 0.14%, which places the accumulated gain compared to the end of 2022 at 3.78%, the third consecutive year of rise but well below other major world parks.
The main London index, the FTSE-100 – also known as “footsie” – ended the day with a growth of 0.14% and went this year from the 7,451.74 integers with which it closed 2022 to 7,733.24 in this close, an increase of 281.5 points.
According to data collected by the financial platform Investing.com, the companies that grew the most this year were the defense and aviation group Rolls-Royce Holdings, whose value increased by 221.57% this year; and the investment company Melrose Industries, with a rise of 101.03%.
Compared to the previous ones, the groups that registered the greatest decrease throughout 2023 were the mining company Anglo American, with a decrease of 39.11%; investment management firm St. James’s Place, which was down 37.57%; and the Fresnillo mining company, which fell 34.09%.
As for this Friday in particular, the winners on the trading floor have been the banking company Standard Chartered, which grew by 1.74%; the construction company Taylor Wimpey, which increased by 1.55%; and the pharmaceutical company Hikma Pharmaceuticals, whose value increased by 1.22%.
On the contrary, the losers of the day were the Antofagasta mining group, which fell 1.64%; property investment company Land Securities Group, which fell 1.62%; and the construction elements company Howden Joinery Group, which lost 1.57% of its value.
Interest rates have been one of the issues that has most marked the stock markets during the year, also in the United Kingdom.
The Bank of England has not stopped increasing its value since January 2022, reaching 5.25% in August of this year, although it has remained stable since then.
That is, in the opinion of analysts, one of the reasons behind the large number of cash withdrawn by British retail investors, who in 2023 sold the largest number of shares in two decades, according to figures from the Investment Association.
The latest data in this regard, from the end of October, already indicated that until then small investors had gotten rid of 11,900 million pounds (13,732 million euros) of shares listed in London, just below the 12,000 million (13,048 million euros) that they sold in 2022, a record in two decades.
According to managers and experts consulted by the “Financial Times”, this exodus is due to a combination of the high cost of living, which has forced many small shareholders to resort to their investments, the increase in mortgages caused by interest rates and the weak performance of the London Stock Exchange.
“The FTSE 100 has floundered all the way, making a modest gain for the year but failing to deliver an exceptional performance,” says Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
In the United Kingdom, the lukewarm gain of its stock market is compared to those experienced by the DAX in Frankfurt, which accumulated a rise of 19%, or the S&P 500, with an increase of 25%.
Analysts believe that the lack of technological muscle in the FTSE 100 is penalizing the London stock market compared to its competitors.
“Although the Brexit hangover has eased, the UK’s stagnant economy and volatile political scene appear to be discouraging investors,” Streeter said. EFECOM
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2023-12-29 18:25:25
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