The FTSE 100 again offered little in the way of fluctuations on Monday, with almost exactly half of London’s leading stocks trading positively and half negatively at the time of writing.
After a bumper rally in US stocks and a more measured recovery in the FTSE 100, the balance of risks provided little impetus for investors to make major adjustments to their portfolios.
“Stocks look set to struggle for a sense of direction at the start of a week dominated by ongoing conflicts and US domestic politics, while China’s economic difficulties come into focus again,” explained Hargreaves Lansdown’s Susannah Streeter.
“The precariousness of the latest talks in the Middle East amid high tensions between Russia and Ukraine may also be weighing on sentiment.”
Some investors may choose to sit out the quiet August trade, opting to wait for fresh catalysts to fire up equities. That could come later this week with the Jackson Hole Symposium.
“Later in the week attention is likely to turn to the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming, with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell scheduled to speak on Friday,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Investors will be looking for hints on the trajectory of rate cuts, with a cut in September more or less a racing certainty in the minds of most observers.
“Powell’s words and tone could help determine whether the market’s bounce since the short, sharp shock in early August is sustained.”
Although traders will be fixated on Powell’s every word later this week, the Jackson Hole Symposium has a history of resulting in an anticlimax for equities.
As investors awaited events later in the week, 85 of the FTSE 100’s constituents were up or down less than 1% at the time of writing.
Despite questions about China, there was a distinct bid in mining names, including Glencore, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American. JD Sports was the top riser with a gain of 2%.
Pershing Square Holdings, down 2%, was the top faller.