The UK FTSE 100 share index has wrapped up the year with a 5.7% increase for 2024.
London’s blue-chip index has risen by nearly 440 points throughout the year.
On the final trading day, which closed early for the New Year holiday, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 52 points, or 0.65%, reaching a total of 8,173 points.
This marks the fourth consecutive year of growth for the FTSE 100, following a significant drop in 2020 during the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the FTSE 100’s gains are more modest compared to Germany’s DAX and Japan’s Nikkei, both of which increased by around 19% this year. In contrast, New York’s S&P 500 surged by over 23%.
Earlier in the year, the FTSE 100 reached a record high of 8,474 points in May before experiencing a decline in the latter half of the year.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says.
“The FTSE 100 wrapped up 2024 on a high note, shaking off a slow start to the session to finish the year in positive territory. After an impressive climb early on, the index hit an all-time high in May but couldn’t quite muster the momentum to break out of a rangebound pattern in the months that followed.
Meanwhile, it played second fiddle to the tech-fuelled US markets, where AI excitement sent the S&P 500 soaring. Back home, UK investors navigated a year of twists and turns, with two interest rate cuts offering relief while a tax-hiking budget put pressure on some domestic companies.
It was a year of resilience rather than runaway success for the UK’s blue-chip benchmark.
