UK Equity Income monthly commentary August 2026
After a sharp rise in July oil prices continued to rise in August, although at a slower rate. Nevertheless, with prices not far below the three-figure level they are high enough to be painful to all consumers.
Unfortunately, there was no relief in the currency market from dollar weakness as sterling hardly moved against the major currencies.
Given that background it is surprising to note that the Energy sector recorded a modest decline in August. Health Care and Consumer Staples both fell by slightly more, but no sector dropped by more than a few single digits in percentage terms.
On the positive side Materials made a strong gain into a double-digit percentage appreciation. Information Technology also made good progress as did Communication Services and the mixed bag of Not Classified.
Overall, these changes left the UK equity market just in positive territory for a month that is often viewed as a quiet period over the summer holidays with little news flow.
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