Market Commentary February 2019
04 March 2019
The FTSE 100 index continued to build on January’s gains by closing around 1.5% higher for the month.
Value investors continued to purchase equities, believing them still to be a good entry point following the falls of Q4 2018. Trade talks between the US and China continue and the planned US tariff hike on many Chinese goods has been pushed back. Both of these factors helped support the main market during February.
What is a value stock?
A value stock is a stock that tends to trade at a lower price relative to its fundamentals such as dividends, earnings and sales, making them appealing to value investors.
Top 5 FTSE 100 rising stock were:
- Micro Focus International PLC +26%
- Evraz PLC +13%
- Hiscox PLC +13%
- NMC Health PLC +11%
- Kingfisher PLC +10%
Micro Focus International PLC rose following two investment broker upgrades on the share price.
Top 5 FTSE 100 falling stock were:
- TUI PLC -31%
- J Sainsbury PLC -19%
- Fresnillo PLC -15%
- IAG PLC -10%
- Centrica PLC -10%
TUI PLC share price fell following a share price downgrade by UBS.
Brexit uncertainty continues to influence not only the equity markets but even more so currency. Following Theresa May hinting that Brexit could be delayed, sterling strengthened against the Euro.
The price of Brent Crude increased again during February so there is every chance that the cost of car owners filling their fuel tank is going to increase. Good news in that the UK rate of inflation has fallen to 1.8%.
| 28 February 2019 | 1 month | 6 months | 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 | 7,074.73 | 1.52% | -4.81% | -2.17% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3262 | 1.11% | 1.94% | -4.62% |
| GBP/EUR | 1.1660 | 2.10% | 4.74% | 2.55% |
| Brent Crude (US$) | 66.03 | 8.53% | -14.71% | 3.45% |
| Gold (US$ per oz) | 1,313.32 | -0.61% | 9.34% | -0.28% |
This newsletter is intended to provide a general review of certain topics and its purpose is to inform but not to recommend or support any specific investment or course of action.Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future. You may not get back the full amount of your investment.
