No Regrexit among UK investors with FTSE 100 at 11-month high
With the FTSE 100 trading at its highest level since the summer of 2015, retail investors have reported no regret over how they voted in the EU referendum.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, a poll by the Share Centre has revealed 56 per cent of investors say they are happy with the result of the referendum – bang in line with the number who reported they would be backing Leave before the historic vote.
Around half also said the impact of the vote on the stock markets has been better than they expected.
The FTSE 100 was flat today at 6,729 points, but has recovered impressively after an eight per cent plunge on the morning after the vote. The index is now trading at levels not seen since August 2015 and is in a technical bull market – more than 20 per cent up on February's lows of nearly 5,500.
Perhaps even more remarkably, the FTSE 250, seen as a better barometer of the UK economy as it is more domestically-focused than the collection of blue chip and larger firms, is also hovering just below pre-referendum levels. The 250 is up one per cent today to 17,154 – just one per cent off its closing level on the day of the referendum.
Despite the performance of the UK's top stock markets, some sectors – housebuilders, retailers and banks, for instance – have been hit hard since the Brexit vote. In dollar terms, the FTSE 100 is still down on its pre-referendum close, with the pound trading at $1.3116 – 19 cents off the rate hit minutes after the polls closed on 23 June.