Optimistic investors see FTSE 100 edging higher in 2017 according to a new poll by Interactive Investor
NEARLY three quarters of investors believe that the FTSE 100 index will continue to climb in 2017, with 35 per cent predicting it will end between 6,800 and 7,100.
Interactive Investor, the online investment platform, conducted the poll of over 9,000 investors between 21 and 24 November.
Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Our investors are moderately optimistic regarding prospects for the FTSE 100 in 2017, with 72 per cent of investors confident that the FTSE 100 will keep heading higher in 2017. With 75 per cent of our investors having got it right last year, we hope that they will be right again in 2017.”
A separate poll of over 9,000 Interactive Investor customers that ran between 29 November and 2 December predicted that commodities would be the best performing sector in 2017, with over 29 per cent voting for the sector to shine.
This was closely followed by financials with just under 21 per cent of the votes. Meanwhile, only 2 per cent of customers thought that utilities offered the best prospects for 2017.
O'Keeffe explained: “2016 has seen political earthquakes move currencies, sectors and stocks in huge trading ranges, allowing active traders to benefit significantly from these seismic changes. The primary beneficiary of these events has been commodities, with industrial metals, mining and oil all soaring. Investing in almost anything to do with basic resources has delivered spectacular gains – an outcome predicted by our investors a year ago, when they ranked commodities as the sector likely to offer the best prospects for 2016.
"Despite the sharp rally over the past 12 months, commodities are again the chosen favourite of our investors for 2017, and although there is some temptation to think that the bull market for this sector has run its course, it may pay to respect our investors' collective judgment after they called the market so accurately last year."