Hargreaves Lansdown reports: FTSE 100 closes higher after being rangebound for most of 2024

The FTSE 100 ended 2024 on a excessive be aware, gaining 5.8% after a rangebound 12 months. Banking shares led the cost, whereas miners and builders lagged. In the meantime, Bitcoin’s growth misplaced momentum within the 12 months’s closing weeks, marking a blended efficiency throughout markets, as Hargreaves Lansdown’s touch upon the place.

Matt Britzman, senior fairness analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“The FTSE 100 wrapped up 2024 on a excessive be aware, shaking off a gradual begin to the session to complete the 12 months in constructive territory. After a powerful climb early on, the index hit an all-time excessive in Might however couldn’t fairly muster the momentum to interrupt out of a rangebound sample within the months that adopted – ending the 12 months up 5.8%. In the meantime, it performed second fiddle to the tech-fuelled US markets, the place AI pleasure despatched the S&P 500 hovering. Again dwelling, UK buyers navigated a 12 months of twists and turns, with two rate of interest cuts providing reduction whereas a tax-hiking price range put stress on some home corporations. It was a 12 months of resilience quite than runaway success for the UK’s blue-chip benchmark.

Finance shares have been cashing in over 2024, with the UK’s banking heavyweights main the cost, carefully adopted by standouts within the insurance coverage and asset administration sectors. NatWest andBarclays stole the highlight, shocking many after getting into the 12 months with low expectations. Fears of financial turbulence and a wave of mortgage defaults by no means materialized, and with rate of interest cuts arriving at a gentler tempo than anticipated, it’s been smoother crusing than some had feared. As we method 2025, the banks look firmly anchored on strong floor. In the meantime, air journey and vacation shares have been flying excessive, with IAG and Rolls Royce hovering to the highest of the UK’s efficiency charts. Regardless of going through headwinds from rising prices, shoppers appear decided to prioritize pleasure over prudence, proving they’re all-in on making reminiscences – even when the price range’s tight.

Down on the backside of the leaderboard, mining giants hit a tough patch over the 12 months, weighed down by a sluggish Chinese language economic system and stimulus measures that fell in need of sparking the hoped-for rebound. Nearer to dwelling, the UK housing and actual property markets have additionally taken a success. Housebuilders and actual property corporations have been caught close to the underside of the pile, as cussed inflation has slowed the trail to charge cuts, leaving the sector feeling the squeeze. But it surely’s not all doom and gloom. As we head into 2025, there’s a glimmer of hope for a few of this 12 months’s underperformers. Take Croda, for instance – regardless of grappling with sector-specific challenges, the corporate seems to be charting a course towards restoration, providing a touch of optimism for what lies forward.

Bitcoin had a landmark 12 months in 2024, breaking by means of the $100,000 mark for the primary time earlier than retreating barely because the 12 months closed. The election of Donald Trump reignited hopes for a extra crypto-friendly regulatory panorama, including momentum to the rising institutional and retail curiosity within the cryptocurrency. Whereas Bitcoin stays a extremely risky instrument, its growing adoption and recognition are forcing buyers to take a tougher look.”