Flagship UK stock index has best year since 2009 - outperforming rivals

The UK's flagship banal scale has had its champion twelvemonth since 2009 aft a bid of record-breaking days.

The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 ended the twelvemonth up 21.5% compared to the start.

It means the stock terms of the publically traded companies making up the FTSE 100 had the top yearly summation successful 16 years.

The FTSE 100 comprises the 100 astir invaluable companies listed connected the London Stock Exchange.

Notable constituents see lenders specified arsenic Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's.

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The scale is besides mostly made up of mining and planetary lipid and state companies.

There was a bid of record-breaking moments for the UK's benchmark scale crossed the 12 months, the astir caller of which was connected 30 December.

Why?

It has been boosted by a anemic lb astatine points implicit the year, which made it bully worth to bargain shares priced successful sterling, arsenic FTSE 100 companies thin to be.

Many of the mining giants person done good arsenic minerals similar gold, metallic and copper reached caller highs. Investors moved wealth into the metals arsenic they were perceived arsenic harmless investments portion markets were volatile.

The committedness of involvement complaint cuts by the Bank of England besides helped assistance the FTSE 100.

It had besides benefited from investors looking to companies extracurricular of the US aft President Trump's commercialized warfare against China, and overmuch of the world, began successful earnest connected 2 April connected his alleged Liberation Day.

Many commercialized deals person since been agreed.

How does it compare?

The UK's top-flight scale besides outperformed European and US rivals.

France's CAC 40 scale gained much than 10% successful 2025, portion the pan-European Stoxx 600 accrued astir 16%.

Germany's DAX besides roseate 21.5%.

After a twelvemonth that saw tech institution valuations soar, arsenic investors sought to payment from an anticipated artificial quality (AI) boom, Wall Street's S&P 500 roseate 17%.

The S&P 500 is the US scale containing companies relied connected to beryllium unchangeable and profitable, and contains the Magnificent 7 highest-performing tech companies.

Among the Magnificent 7 is the astir invaluable institution successful the world, AI-chipmaker Nvidia, arsenic good arsenic Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Google's genitor company, Alphabet.

Despite hovering adjacent the symbolic 10,000 mark, the FTSE 100 failed to conscionable the milestone and closed the twelvemonth astatine 9,931.