Twenty FTSE 100 stocks have risen by 50 per cent or more in the past year – propelling the index to a record high within a whisker of the 11,000 mark.
Analysis of Refinitiv data by the Daily Mail and This is Money reveals the 20 best-performing blue-chip shares in London over 12 months are all up by more than a half.
The ‘Tasty 20’ list is led by gold and silver miner Fresnillo, up a staggering 448 per cent, with fellow miners including Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American also making waves.
They are joined by defence groups including Rolls-Royce, Babcock International and BAE Systems, banks such as Barclays and Lloyds, and stalwarts of British industry GSK and British American Tobacco.
The revelation comes as the Footsie scales new peaks, rising more than 100 points to 10,788 on Wednesday, the highest level in its history.
On the up: Today, we reveal the 20 FTSE 100 companies that have seen their value soar in the past year – including Rolls Royce Holdings
Analysts now believe it could hit 11,000 in the not-too-distant future having only reached 10,000 in early January.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: ‘The next psychological milestone for the FTSE 100 would be a level of 11,000 which is just 2 per cent away.
‘At the current run rate this is a distinct possibility, with the primary index having become the star of the show on the international stage as the investment stars have aligned.’
The latest peaks represent a remarkable turnaround for the flying Footsie given it was firmly grounded less than a year ago.
As Donald Trump laid out his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff blitz on trading partners around the world in April last year, London’s blue-chip index sank as low as 7,544.
It has risen 43 per cent since then – boosting the pension pots, Isas, nest-eggs and other investments of millions of Britons.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the Footsie is ‘changing its reputation from unloved to admired’.
The FTSE 100 has found itself back in fashion partly due to its more ‘defensive’ nature at a time when investors are worried about inflated valuations of technology stocks.
Surging metals prices – including gold, silver and copper – have propelled London’s army of listed miners higher while defence stocks continue to benefit as Europe scrambles to rearm in the face of Russian military aggression.
The Footsie is also benefiting from the weakness of sterling as 80 per cent of blue-chip revenues come from overseas – boosting profits when they are converted back into pounds.
Mr Hunter at Interactive Investor suggested there could be more gains on the horizon for the FTSE 100, noting it ‘remains cheap in relative valuation terms’.
‘There has also been strong buying interest from overseas investors, particularly from the US, all of which have combined to lift the primary index to yet another record high,’ he said.
‘Despite this outperformance, the FTSE 100 remains cheap in relative valuation terms, with a 14 forward earnings multiple comparing to 23 for the benchmark S&P 500 in the US for example, leaving the door open to further possible returns.’
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