The FTSE 100 index has reached a new intra-day high, passing the 10,000-point mark for the first time, after UK shares rose over the Christmas period.
The index leaped to hit 10,036.82 on Friday morning, hitting a new record for the UK’s blue-chip index.
Opening just over 50 points shy of the symbolic 10,000 mark, the FTSE 100 broke the barrier less than 30 minutes after markets opened.
The gains come after both mining and defence and aerospace stocks rose on Friday. These sectors, alongside banking, have provided big gains for the index over the past year.
The FTSE 100’s top winner over 2025, precious metals miner Fresnillo, lead the charge, jumping 3.6 per cent on Friday. The firm gained some 368 per cent over 2025.
Meanwhile, fellow mining stocks Glencore and Antofagasta gained 2.4 per cent and 1.86 per cent respectively.
Defence and aerospace giants Rolls-Royce, Melrose Industries, Babcock International and BAE Systems rose 3.44 per cent, 3.06 per cent, 3.06 per cent and 2.68 per cent each.
Last year’s FTSE 100 performance is the best since the index rose 22.1 per cent in 2009, following the financial crisis
The index had hit a record high on 31 December, reaching 9,950.11, before closing at 9,940.71, but failing to breach 10,000. Markets were closed on New Year’s Day.
By 10am, the index had slipped back under 10,000 a 9,993.
Over the past 12 months, the FTSE 100 has gained 21 per cent, in spite of losing 10 per cent amid Trump’s tariff announcements.
Over the same period, the S&P 500 index gained just shy of 17 per cent.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘It’s time to break out the champagne as UK stock markets have delivered a New Year’s treat
‘This is a historic moment and already makes 2026 one of the most significant years for the blue-chip index since its launch in 1984.’
Last year’s FTSE 100 performance is the best since the index rose 22.1 per cent in 2009, following the financial crisis.
‘Breaking through the 10,000 level is the best New Year’s present Chancellor Rachel Reeves could want.
‘She has been banging the drum about the merits of investing over parking cash in the bank, and the FTSE 100’s achievements just go to show what’s possible when buying UK shares,’ Coatsworth said.
The index reached the 9,000-point mark back in July, just 171 days ago.
‘Lots of people have criticised the UK for being an old economy market, full of boring companies in the banking and natural resources sector.
‘Yes, it lacks the excitement of go-go-growth stocks omnipresent in the US, but boring can also be beautiful when it comes to investing,’ Coatsworth said.
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