The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) has climbed to fresh highs this year, despite economic headwinds and global volatility, with a number of stocks contributing to that performance.
The UK’s blue-chip index is up 20% year-to-date, at the time of writing, having hit a record high close of 9,911 points in mid-November, closing in on the 10,000-mark. By comparison, the US S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 15.8% so far this year.
“So much for the UK being the home for old economy companies – the FTSE 100 has had precisely the ingredients desired by investors in a year full of political, trade and market uncertainty,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell (AJB.L).
The UK market has lower exposure to tech companies, which has helped shield it from some of the volatility driven by concerns about the valuations of US big tech stocks and their level of spending on AI.
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Coatworth said that the FTSE 100’s success this year “is not a flash in the pan”, pointing out that the blue-chip index has delivered positive returns in eight of the past 10 years, averaging 9.1% annually over that period including dividends.
“This kind of performance reinforces the attraction of investing over the long term,” he said. “There may be years when performance disappoints, but history suggests it’s worth pursuing.”
Three sectors dominate the FTSE 100’s top performers this year: mining, defence and banks. Demand for safe-haven assets amid uncertainty has driven a rally in gold prices (GC=F), buoying shares in mining companies. And government commitments to spend more on defence has seen investors flock to firms operating in the sector. Meanwhile, strong balance sheets have helped the performance of London-listed banks.
Here’s more detail on which UK blue-chip stocks have delivered the best total returns this year, including both share price performance and dividends.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) has been the top performer on the FTSE 100 this year, delivering a total return of 386%, according to data provided by AJ Bell.
Concerns about the impact of US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, broader economic worries and geopolitical tensions have fuelled demand for gold (GC=F), pushing prices to record highs.
The precious metal is considered to act as a reliable store of value and a hedge against inflation, so is looked to as a safe-haven investment in times of uncertainty. Central banks cutting interest rates this year has also boosted the appeal of gold (GC=F), as a non-yielding asset.