The past 12 months were a pretty good time for markets – especially for UK investors, with the FTSE 100 index closing above 10,000 points for the first time in its history in only the third trading day of 2026.
In local currency terms, the large-cap index generated a total return of 25.8 per cent last year, beating most of its global peers, according to FactSet. The broader FTSE All-Share market was also up 24 per cent, outperforming the 20.6 per cent gain from Europe’s Stoxx 600 index and the 17.9 per cent earned by the S&P 500.
While the UK had been a market to avoid for many in recent years given its lack of exposure to booming tech stocks, several factors have played in its favour.