The FTSE 100 has suffered its biggest annual loss since the financial crisis, but there were still big winners on the blue chip index, with one stock more than doubling.
The FTSE 100 has suffered its biggest annual loss since the financial crisis, ending 2020 down 14.3%, while other global stock markets powered to record highs. It has been a year to forget in many ways for U.K. investors as the country’s sky-high Covid-19 death rate and the overhang of Brexit uncertainty weighed on sentiment. Although the FTSE rallied 29.4% from its 23 March low at the height of the coronavirus panic, it was hampered by its oil and financials-heavy make-up, which were among the hardest hit sectors this year. The U.K. blue chip index lagged nearly all its neighbors, as Germany’s Dax closed the year up 3.5%, while the French Cac was down 6.8%. Only Spain’s Ibex ended 2020 deeper in the red, losing 15.5% of its value. The FTSE’s performance looks even more of an outlier on the global stage, where the S&P 500 rose 15.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq NDAQ surged 43.4% to record highs. Japan’s Nikkei, which was up 16%, and the Chinese CSI 300’s gain of 27% also scaled new heights.
