FTSE

A mixed year for equity markets nonetheless ended on a high, with the FTSE 100 up over 12% year to date and the FTSE All Share 15% ahead, but which stocks thrived and which dived in 2013?

US markets have continued to make gains overnight on the back of positive data on the job market.

The Bank of England has said market expectations of future rate rises are "not warranted", sparking a drop in sterling and a 50 point jump in the FTSE 100.

A lack of further easing from the Japanese authorities coupled with fears over QE in Europe rattled markets today, sending the FTSE 100 to a seven-week low, with asset managers among the biggest fallers.

London's leading share index has started the week firmly lower, with global sentiment knocked by worse than expected Chinese manufacturing data which had already sparked yet another slump for Japan's stock market.

Staying invested, rather than trying to time the market to avoid the dips, can make the difference between big gains and significant losses, analysis of the FTSE 100 has shown.

The FTSE 100 index fell once again today as nervous investors continued to take profits, but it remains on track to lock-in its twelfth consecutive month of gains.

TOP STOCKS

The FTSE 100 index has shrugged off the heavy falls seen at the end of last week to resume its upward trend in early trading this morning.

European markets recorded sharp falls in early trading on Thursday after Japan's Nikkei 225 index shed more than 1,100 points on concerns the US Federal Reserve may scale back its quantitative easing programme.