UK Equity Income monthly commentary May 2026
Despite a variety of events in the global economy and world politics in May sterling remained remarkably stable. However, oil prices came down a little over the month as tensions in the Middle East appeared to ease.
The bulk of UK companies with December year ends have now reported results for last year and declared and distributed dividends. This influx of cash is mostly reinvested back into the market and tends to slightly increase valuations. This is probably the major reason for the modest upward movement in UK equity indices in May.
Only four sectors declined over the month; Utilities, Energy, Communication Services and Health Care, although the fall in Utilities was substantial being in high single digits. This drop was larger in percentage terms than any gains by the sectors that increased in value, although four; Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Materials and Unclassified were up by mid-single digits in percentage terms.
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