Image source: Getty Images
At the start of the year, the outlook for the stock market in 2025 felt fairly uncertain. Since then, we have seen some sizeable economic and geopolitical surprises. The stock market on both sides of the pond has shown a high level of volatility, notably following April’s announcement of US trade policy.
Overall, though, the market has not done too badly. In fact, yesterday (11 July), the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies hit a new all-time high.
The FTSE 250 is up 5% since the year began, but remains around 11% below its all-time closing high back in 2021.
Given how well the FTSE 100 has been doing, despite some weak economic indicators, could we be heading for a crash in the second half of the year?
Market timing is hard, if not impossible
Autumn has historically been a volatile time in markets. Recent examples include the September 2008 implosion of Lehman…


