The top stocks in the FTSE 100

The FTSE 100, the UK’s flagship stock market index, has hit new highs during the opening days of 2026, continuing its momentum from a strong year in 2025.

The index’s constituents feature consistently among the top stocks for retail investors, with household names like Diageo (LON:DGE) and BP (LON:BP.) topping the list of stocks bought by investment platform Interactive Investor’s customers during December.

This has driven the FTSE 100 to all-time highs, breaking the 10,000 barrier for the first time on 2 January and pushing on to over 10,200 on 15 January.

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FTSE 100 stocks are typically large, multinational companies. Its revenue is derived mostly from overseas, and as such its performance isn’t necessarily correlated with that of the UK economy.

The FTSE 250, which consists of the next 250 largest UK-listed companies, is typically viewed as a closer barometer for the health of the UK economy specifically, as its mid-cap stocks have a more domestic focus.

Despite that, the FTSE 100 tends to receive a boost whenever the UK does well. A surprise 0.3% growth figure in UK GDP for November saw the index open 0.2% higher on 15 January.

“With November’s snapshot of economic health more robust than expected, it’s put more spring in the step of listed companies linked to the domestic outlook,” said Susannah Streeter, chief markets strategist at Wealth Club. “With the economy wriggling firmly out of recession territory there’s also some expectation it’ll help boost consumer confidence.”

So what are the top stocks in the FTSE 100, and should you consider investing?

The top-performing FTSE 100 stocks of 2025

2025 was the FTSE 100’s best year for price returns since the global financial crisis. But which were the top stocks that drove gains of over 21%?

Here are the top-performing FTSE 100 stocks of 2025:

^{Source: LSEG}

Fresnillo (LON:FRES), the world’s largest silver miner, led the FTSE 100 as its share price increased more than fivefold during the year, benefitting from a 147% increase in the price of silver. Endeavour Mining (LON:EDV) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) also cashed in on an excellent year for precious metals.

Defence stocks like Rolls-Royce (LON:RR.) and Babcock International (LON:BAB) also made the top ten list, alongside resurgent financial stocks like Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), Prudential (LON:PRU) and Lloyds (LON:LLOY).

The top FTSE 100 stocks by market cap

In terms of market capitalisation (market cap), these are the biggest stocks in the FTSE 100 as of 15 January:

^{Source: London Stock Exchange}

Pharmaceuticals giant Astrazeneca holds the top spot in the FTSE 100’s list of largest companies at present.

Should you invest in the FTSE 100?

While UK share price gains don’t always match the explosive rates of their American counterparts, FTSE 100 shares can be a good source of dividends and close the gap in terms of total returns.

“Fundamentally, the FTSE 100 can help provide ballast to an ISA or pension portfolio, particularly as the index has a rich source of dividends and a good mix of cyclical and defensive companies,” says Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

“Holding UK equities alongside the US, emerging markets, Europe and others may be the best way to capture emerging winners, reduce your investment risk, and benefit from global megatrends,” says James McManus, chief investment officer at JP Morgan-owned digital wealth manager Nutmeg.

One easy way to invest in the FTSE 100 is buying a tracker fund such as the Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (LON:VUKE).