
This time last year, a good number of investors were bracing for a recession. 2018’s political uncertainty had weighed on UK companies and the FTSE 350 had finished the year down some 13 per cent. 2019 did turn out to be a mixed bag: a US-China trade war, a slowdown in Europe, and in the UK companies twice weathered the prospect of a no-deal Brexit as well as a general election in December. But we saw some remarkably resilient performances from a few companies: Games Workshop (GAW), JD Sports (JD) and Future (FUTR) were among a handful whose share price climbed by a three-digit percentage year on year. But our sectoral review of the index reveals some wider challenges for UK equities that are likely to continue into 2020.