January market indicator points south

published 6 February 2009

With the economic and earnings outlook still darkening, there's no reason to expect a significant bounce in equities anytime soon.

And a non-fundamental indicator consistently in the news at this time of year is giving a gloomy reading too. According to the well-known market axiom, "as January goes, so goes the year".

The FTSE 100, which has mirrored January's performance in 18 of the 25 years since its inception, was down by over 6% last month. Moreover, America's S&P 500 index has just posted its worst January on record, losing 8.6%.