The FTSE 100 remained steady on Tuesday after London’s leading index surpassed 9,000 for the first time in history, underscoring the strength of UK stocks so far in 2025.
Breaching the 9,000 mark is a major milestone for London’s leading shares after spending years in the shadow of US stocks. The UK’s weighting towards natural resources and defensive sectors, such as pharma and utilities, has proved to be a magnet for investors seeking alternatives to US stocks as questions about US exceptionalism begin to creep in.
The UK’s low valuation has been well documented, but this year has seen the first signs of investors making sustained efforts to exploit the good value in UK shares, culminating in record highs above 9,000.
The FTSE 100 was trading at 8,992 at the time of writing.
“It’s party time as the FTSE 100 has smashed through the 9,000 level. This is another big tick in what’s proving to be a momentous year for the UK stock market. It took eight years for the FTSE 100 to go from 7,000 to 8,000, yet only two years to break through 9,000. That suggests the market is shaking its unloved reputation and more investors like what’s on the menu,” explained Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
“Outperforming the main US indices since January is a major achievement for the UK and the FTSE 100 going through 9,000 builds on this success. It should help to convince overseas investors that the UK market isn’t dull and boring.”
Although the FTSE 100’s rally in 2025 has been driven by differences from US markets, gains in US indices did contribute to boosting sentiment on Tuesday, as Nvidia shares soared in the premarket and JP Morgan reported strong results.
It has been rare for US and UK stocks to break record highs simultaneously, but that’s exactly what’s happening this week, with the NASDAQ scaling fresh highs alongside the FTSE 100.
“This surge in U.S. equities futures comes ahead of a series of high-impact economic releases scheduled for this week. Investors appear to be betting on the resilience of the U.S. economy and its corporate sector amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade tensions and monetary policy,” said Samer Hasn, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com.
News that Nvidia will be able to ship key AI chips to China sent the stock higher and set US stocks up for more record highs on Tuesday.
In the UK, Experian was the FTSE 100’s top riser after reporting strong Q1 results driven by organic growth. Experian shares were 4% higher at the time of writing.
“We delivered strong Q1 growth and have further advanced our strategic priorities,” said Brian Cassin, Chief Executive Officer, Experian. “Total revenue growth at constant currency was 12%, with organic revenue growth of 8%, sustaining recent strong underlying performance and our financial outlook for the year is unchanged.”
Barratt Redrow’s results weighed on the housebuilders after the group issued a downbeat assessment of the UK property markets alongside an 8% drop in completions. Barratt Redrow shares were down 6% at the time of writing and are trading at the lowest levels since 2023.
“The sector is firmly in the red after a shocking update from Barratt Redrow whose full-year results reveal home completions below expectations,” Dan Coatsworth said.
“It says consumers remain cautious and mortgage rates are not falling as quickly as hoped. The general tone is one of frustration and a lack of confidence in the near term, which has soured sentiment across the housebuilding sector. If one of the biggest housebuilders in the country is flagging headwinds, it doesn’t give much hope to the others.”