Share recovery to continue in 2004

outlook

Last year saw equities bounce back after fears of a market meltdown at the beginning of the year. The question now is whether the share-price revival will continue in 2004, and the signs are good

After all the fears of a market meltdown at the beginning of the year, 2003 turned out to be remarkably good for equity investors in both the UK and abroad. The FTSE 100 finished December at 4476.9, posting a total return of some 17.9% for the year as a whole. In fact, UK shares rose 35.7% from a low point in March, when fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East sent the index plummeting below 3,300. Swift progress from the coalition armed forces in Iraq, signs of an emerging global economic recovery plus a surge in corporate profits caused the revival in share prices in the UK and ...