After a bit of a Halloween shocker for the FTSE 100 on Thursday the index ended up trading down 1.9% for the month of October.
This compared with gains of 5.4% for the Nikkei 225, 2% for the S&P 500 and 3.5% for Germany’s DAX index.
As AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould observes: ‘The FTSE wasn’t helped by sterling’s best performance since the financial crisis as raised hopes of clarity on Brexit helped pick the battered currency off the floor.
‘A strong pound hits the relative value of the overseas earnings which represent the lion’s share those generated by FTSE constituents.’
BREXIT DOMINATES
In a month which has been dominated by ructions over Brexit and ultimately saw the UK’s departure from the EU - scheduled for 31 October - postponed, it is interesting to see which stocks in FTSE 100 index performed best over the course of the month.
| Company | October share price performance |
| BT | 14.6% |
| Aveva | 13% |
| International Consolidated Airlines | 11.8% |
| Barclays | 11.6% |
| Polymetal | 11% |
| Ferguson | 10.8% |
| Land Securities | 9.8% |
| Rightmove | 8.7% |
| TUI | 6.8% |
| Next | 6.4% |
Source: SharePad
Some names were lifted by specific bits of newsflow. Top of the tree was telecoms firm BT (BT.A) as it outlined new plans for the business (9 Oct), including the launch of converged 5G mobile and home broadband offering Halo, and avoided the ignominy of a further dividend cut when it posted its first half results (31 Oct).
Industrial software play Aveva (AVV), a recent entrant to the FTSE 100, as a first half trading update revealed continued momentum in the business.
British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) was on the front foot, boosted by solid third quarter numbers (31 Oct) and, like travel operator TUI (TUI), seen as a potential beneficiary of the collapse of Thomas Cook.
MORE UPBEAT ON DOMESTICS
Several of the names on the list, namely Barclays (BARC), which delivered a mixed third quarter update (25 Oct), retailer Next (NXT), which also provided an unspectacular trading statement (30 Oct), landlord Land Securities (LAND) and online property site Rightmove (RMV) benefitted from improved sentiment towards domestic stocks.
This followed the breakthrough deal agreed on Brexit earlier in October. It will be interesting to see how UK-facing firms fare in November as the build up to an election on 12 December intensifies.
