The best and worst FTSE sectors in 2016 revealed
By Kristen McGachey, 3 Jan 17
New data from Financial Express Analytics reveals a stunning year for miners and oil companies and persistent trouble for telecoms and retailers.
Though commodities and mining companies began 2016 on shaky ground, culminating in market lows in February, the industry rebounded “spectacularly,” as investors’ pessimism waned and the feared China slowdown did not come to fruition, said Wealth Club investment director Ben Yearsley.
He contends it was the drastic reversal of this negativity that paved the way for such high returns in the sector as a whole.
“Many will forget that going into 2016 there was a high degree of volatility culminating in market lows in February with uncertainty surrounding the ability of many mining and commodity companies to service their debt. Roll forward to the end of 2016, and these same companies topped the performance charts. The year looked spectacular for those sectors precisely because the outlook was so bad going into 2016.”
In the end, sectors within the FTSE basic materials category, which includes industrial metals and mining, surpassed their oil & gas peers, providing the highest level of returns.
The FTSE industrial metals & mining sector was the top performing sector of the year, generating a hefty 230.99% in returns for investors.
