'We've hit the bottom' says Anthony Bolton

'We've hit the bottom' says Anthony Bolton

• Anthony Bolton, the veteran stock picker, believes the market has hit the bottom, despite the FTSE 100 falling back below 4000.
  
  By Abigail Townsend
  Last Updated: 7:24PM BST 11 Apr 2009
  
  The well-respected Mr Bolton, president of investments at Fidelity International, said that although the recent rally had come to a halt, underlying conditions had not changed. These include an increase in director dealing and negative consumer confidence – in other words, sentiment is so poor it has nowhere else to go but up.
  
  He also pointed to positive economic indicators like an increase in China's official purchasing managers' index last month.
  
  The FTSE 100 has jumped since the beginning of March, moving from around 3542 to a high of 4124 in early April. But in the last week it has started to fall back again, going as low as 3925.
  
  A stronger session on Thursday saw the market close for Easter in positive territory, the first time since April 2, ahead 58 points at 3983. Bears remain convinced the rally was little more than a "dead cat bounce" or bear market rally.
  
  But Mr Bolton remains unfazed. His beliefs were underlined by a survey from his firm that found investing when consumer confidence is at a low point, such as now, can generate an average of 13pc more in annualised returns.
  
  He did, however, concede that conditions would remain bumpy for the next few months. "The market recovery won't necessarily be in a straight line and we'll still see some ups and downs, the pattern we have seen recently."

See also: Anthony Bolton : Why Now's The Time To Buy!