LONDON: London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index hit the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time on Friday, the latest sign of surging stock markets around the world.
The British benchmark gained nearly 22% in 2025, its best year since 2009, outperforming Europe's broad STOXX 600 index and the S&P 500.
Its gains largely reflect euphoria towards stocks worldwide thanks to a rally in Artificial Intelligence, though British stock markets are little exposed to the sector.
Instead, its biggest gainers in 2025 included miners such as Fresnillo, boosted by surging precious metal prices, defence firms such as Babcock and Rolls Royce as Europe ramped up defence spending, and banks including Lloyds , which benefited from still elevated interest rates alongside decent economic growth.
The FTSE, weighted-heavily towards internationally-focused companies, has also outperformed the domestically-focussed mid-cap FTSE 250. The latter rose roughly 9% in 2025.
Still, the blue-chip index has lagged other markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Spain and Italy .
The milestone could help boost sentiment towards UK markets, which have been battered in recent years by political instability, post-Brexit uncertainty and concern about high debt. - Reuters
