Flying Footsie clocks up finest yr since 2009 because it ends practically 22% up – with Fresnillo the large winner

The FTSE 100 has delivered its best annual performance in 16 years as it ended nearly 22 per cent up on last year in the final session of 2025.

On a shortened day of trading for New Year’s Eve yesterday, London’s blue-chip index was little changed – finishing 9.3 points, or 0.1 per cent lower, at 9931.4.

But it followed a rally the day before which had taken the FTSE to a new closing record of 9940.7.

The index had closed 2024 on 8173 points. Its closing mark yesterday was 21.51 per cent up on that level, the largest annual percentage increase since 2009.

The latest uptick keeps alive hopes that after a gloomy few years, the index will be poised to burst through the 10,000-mark for the first time in 2026.

On the up: The FTSE 100 finished 22% up for the year – and there was one big winner…

The FTSE’s bumper annual performance came as the pound also enjoyed a strong year, up 7.5 per cent against the US dollar – the biggest increase since 2017.

It came as the greenback has been weakened by Donald Trump’s erratic policy making and his threats to the independence of the US Federal Reserve.

But it was the FTSE’s rally – outshining Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Dow Jones Index – that will raise hopes of better prospects for the City.

Dismal valuations in recent years have seen some of the UK’s biggest listed firms jump ship and cross the pond to seek their fortunes in New York.

Others have shunned London altogether and made their market debuts on the ‘street of dreams’.

But officials at the stock exchange will be hoping that its bounce this year will make them think twice. Already a series of IPOs from the likes of Princes Group, Beauty Tech, and Shawbrook at the latter end of the year have offered a glimmer of hope.

Further IPOs from the likes of software firm Visma and motoring organisation the RAC could deliver a further boost in 2026.

The FTSE’s performance is all the more astonishing given that it fell victim to a sharp global sell-off back in April.

Yet like other markets it has fought back strongly. Its intraday peak of 9954.3 on 30 December was 32 per cent, or more than 2,400 points, higher than this year’s low point of 7544.8 on 7 April.

By far the biggest gainer has been the London-listed Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo, up by 452 per cent on the year.

It has been boosted by the sharp rise in the prices of gold and silver – which have become increasingly attractive as safe haven assets at a time of geopolitical uncertainty. 

Gold is also being snapped up by central banks while industrial demand for silver is growing.

Gold rose by more than 60 per cent over the year, hitting an all-time high of more than $4,500 an ounce over the Christmas period before falling back in the last couple of days.

Silver has had an even bigger surge of around 150 per cent – taking it to a recent record high of more than $80 before dropping sharply. The recent falls for gold and silver have been attributed to profit taking.

Among other big winners this year have been defence stocks, which continue to be boosted by rising demand as global threats grow.

BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence firm, is up by 49 per cent while Babcock has surged by 149 per cent over the course of the year.