FTSE 100 set to end 2009 on a high

The UK stock market has rebounded by just under 1% this morning with commodity companies and banks leading the away after a disappointing time yesterday. The markets will close at 1230 today but barring a massive collapse over the last two hours we will have seen the largest annual increase in the FTSE 100 since 1997. So what does 2010 hold the UK stock market?

A number of analysts have suggested that while the "Santa rally" is expected to run out of steam in early 2010, the economic indicators from December were in many cases better than analysts had expected. It seems that the UK government is still powering ahead with fiscal initiatives for the UK economy, something which many people believe will bear fruit in 2010. However, on the flip side there are concerns about the UK property market (and the fact that liquidity is not what it should be) with many first-time buyers still being priced out of the market.

As ever, we enter 2010, like we do most years in the stock market, with uncertainty and differing opinions about the UK economy and the UK stock market. However, it is worth remembering that different opinions and different strategies make a market and ultimately the merging of these opinions will dictate the direction of stocks and shares in 2010.