Gold miners and defence giants were the best performing UK stocks in the first half of the year as the FTSE 100 delivered its strongest run in four years, writes Jessica Clark.
The London market was buoyed by several factors including shift away from Wall Street amid tariff fears, a military spending boost and the UK’s trade deal with the US, analysts said.
The FTSE 100 rose 7.7 per cent in first six months of 2025, its best first-half performance since 2021 when it soared 8.9 per cent.
Fresnillo was the top performer in the blue-chip index in the first six months of the year. The precious metal miner’s stock soared 138 per cent thanks to rocketing gold and silver prices as investors sought safe haven assets.
British defence giants Babcock, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems were also among the top FTSE100 risers, with their shares climbing 127 per cent, 68 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively.
They were boosted by UK government plans to increase military spending amid conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE100 is full of the type of stocks that appeal to investors when there is uncertainty in the world. Investors seek companies with defensive qualities and the UK market has them in spades."
The biggest FTSE100 fallers in the first half were advertising giant WPP, food packaging supplier Bunzl, drinks group Diageo and miner Glencore.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the DAX has soared nearly 20 per cent in the first half. And in the US, the S&P 500 and tech-focused Nasdaq hit fresh highs yesterday, taking gains so far this year to 5.5 per cent each.
Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average remains below an all-time high, it has risen 3.9 per cent in the last six months as markets bounced back from the turmoil sparked by Donald Trump’s tariff war.
Artificial intelligence firms have driven the latest gains in the US, with Nasdaq-listed Nvidia regaining the top spot as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.
(Pic: Carl Court/Getty Images)
