The UK equity market endured a volatile time over January, as bouts of upward momentum were countered by periods of weakness. Against this turbulent backdrop, the UK equity market failed to make sustained headway and, according to the FTSE All-Share index, ended the month down 0.3%.One of the primary reasons for the UK equity market's lacklustre performance was the fall in oil and energy prices over the month and the negative impact this had on companies in the Oil & Gas Producers and Electricity sectors. The FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 also ended the month in negative territory, incurring losses of 0.3% and 0.6% respectively, while the FTSE SmallCap ex Investment Trusts index bucked the trend to rise 1.0%.The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) took markets by surprise when it raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.25% at its 11th January meeting - the third increase since August 2006. In corporate news, steel company Corus was the best-performing company in the FTSE 100 index after it was acquired by India's Tata Steel.
