Market Report: FTSE 100 closes higher after being rangebound for most of 2024

• FTSE 100 closes in the green, up 5.8% for the year
• Banking stocks steal the show over 2024
• Miners and builders toward the bottom of the pack
• Bitcoin’s boom fizzles out in the final weeks

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“The FTSE 100 wrapped up 2024 on a high note, shaking off a slow start to the session to finish the year in positive territory. After an impressive climb early on, the index hit an all-time high in May but couldn’t quite muster the momentum to break out of a rangebound pattern in the months that followed – ending the year up 5.8%. Meanwhile, it played second fiddle to the tech-fuelled US markets, where AI excitement sent the S&P 500 soaring. Back home, UK investors navigated a year of twists and turns, with two interest rate cuts offering relief while a tax-hiking budget put pressure on some domestic companies. It was a year of resilience rather than runaway success for the UK’s blue-chip benchmark.

Finance stocks have been cashing in over 2024, with the UK’s banking heavyweights leading the charge, closely followed by standouts in the