FTSE 100 set to start 2018 on a high by Richard Fletcher

Having closed 2017 at a record high (see Market Snap below) the FTSE 100 is forecast to start 2018 twelve points higher as European markets follow Asian markets, which have risen overnight on the back of better than expected Chinese manufacturing PMI data.

It may be a positive start but after the euphoria of December — with the now almost inevitable Santa rally — January is typically a sobering month for investors. Since 2000 the average market return in January has been -1.6 per cent, with the market seeing positive returns in only six years, according to the Stock Market Almanac.