In the three weeks since the Referendum result the UK Stock Market, as measured by the FTSE 100, has risen by around 8% to stand at 6,689 (at time of writing). This could be taken as a sign of confidence in the UK economy or in the UK’s ability to negotiate a favourable trade deal with the EU. On the other hand, the FTSE 250 Index is around 3% down (at time of writing), which gives out ‘mixed signals’. The different performance can be attributed to the fact that the large companies in the FTSE 100 generate more significant earnings from overseas which are now valued higher due to to the weakening of the pound. Despite their being much political change which still has not settled, markets have remained relatively calm with the longer term impact of ‘Brexit’ being uncertain…. Those clients with more exposure to equities will have benefited from some short-term growth and we re-iterate our advice to those with diversified portfolios to take the long-term view.
‘Brexit’ – taking stock…