The OBR’s latest forecasts for the UK economy – and the chancellor’s response to them in the Spring Statement – followed a pattern of not being quite as awful as expected, while not providing a great deal of hope. There was relief that the gilt market was unruffled, but were there any glimmers of hope for the UK equity market?
The UK stockmarket has performed well since the start of the year, with the FTSE All Share rising 4.6%. The domestically-focused small and mid-cap indices, however, have struggled. The FTSE 250 is down 4.8% year-to-date, and the FTSE Small Cap is down 3% over the same period.
The budget did little to boost confidence in the UK economy. The OBR halved its forecasts for economic growth in 2025. Although it raised forecasts for 2026 and beyond, the OBR made it clear that a lot could happen in the interim and relatively small moves in the gilt yield could unseat the UK’s growth projections once…
