British stocks set to still struggle to catch high-flying peers

Article content

After a decade of abysmal returns and a multi-billion-dollar investment exodus, the wait is on to see if 2024 will be the year Britain’s stock market breaks out of its downward spiral.

Most strategists do expect things to look up a bit for a market with the cheapest shares in the developed world. Yet a decisive turnaround looks elusive.

Article content

For one, they have been repeatedly disappointed: London’s FTSE all-share index has lagged global equities in nine of the past 10 years in dollar terms. In 2023, it has inched up two per cent, while euro-area and U.S. peers notched double-digit gains. And since the 2016 Brexit vote, a total of US$100 billion has fled U.K. stock funds, Barclays PLC estimates, citing EPFR Inc. data.