Jun 27, 2023 - Economy
British stocks are at the back of the pack
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The U.K. has the worst-performing big stock market this year.
Why it matters: It's yet another reflection — along with lackluster growth and persistently high inflation — of the economic headwinds facing the country.
- U.K. inflation is at nearly 9% — which some say is partly related to Brexit — while prices pressures have eased much more on the continent.
- Investors can expect more hikes from the Bank of England compared to the European Central Bank, which helps explain the poor showing of British shares compared to neighboring nations.
The latest: The Bank of England's larger-than-expected interest rate hike last week knocked stocks down yet again, leaving London's benchmark FTSE 100 barely positive this year.
Be smart: The London index is heavily influenced by commodity producers — oil giant Shell has the heaviest weight in the FTSE 100.
- So its weakness also reflects the ongoing struggles of China — the world's most important commodity consumer — to recover from the COVID slowdown.
