Goldman Sachs believes U.K. stocks will break a period of underperformance and is targeting a gain of about 7% for British blue-chips this year.
As global equities rallied in 2023, with U.S. and European bourses up between 20-30%, the FTSE 100 index
UK:UKX
of large-cap London-listed stocks managed a gain of just 4%, largely because of the negative pull from its commodities and China exposure, noted a team of Goldman analysts led by Sharon Bell.
The mid-cap FTSE 250
UK:MCX,
whose revenues are more U.K.-focused, also rose just 4%, “reflecting a function of a weaker domestic economy, lack of M&A and a struggling real estate sector,” said the U.S. bank.
The U.K. stock market has been falling out of favor in recent years, with a process of de-equitizing taking place as companies buy back shares in record amounts and there remains a dearth of initial public…
