Of the investment banks contacted by The Times, JP Morgan provided the most optimistic forecast for next year. The US bank is looking for the FTSE 100 to end next year at 4,700, saying it expects company earnings to increase by 10 per cent in 2003. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston were more typical of the consensus with year-end targets of 4,200, but Merrill Lynch expects just 3,950.
Khuram Chaudry, an investment strategist at Merrill Lynch, said: “I would find it quite bizarre if the market made a gain of more than 5 per cent.”
At the end of last year analysts estimated that the FTSE would have reached 5,840 by now, about 50 per cent higher than current levels.
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