I cannot understand why the market sometimes rises when bad economic figures are released?
The short answer is that the figures were not as bad as the market was expecting. The key point here is that share price movements are partly the result of the market anticipating news – whether that be corporate profits or the nation’s economic health. If the news is better than anticipated, the market perks up – if it is worse, it is marked down. However, by concentrating on the medium term health of the companies you are investing in, most of the monthly economic data you will come across will have little impact – which you could not already have anticipated yourself – on your portfolio.
