Britain’s biggest stock index hit a new record this week — what’s actually in there?

It’s a strange time for the global stock market. Amid tariffs, mounting geopolitical tensions, and stalling consumer spending, companies the world over have spent much of the year weathering countless ups and downs. While that volatility has left Wall Street banks with much to celebrate, another surprise winner has been UK stocks. 

On Tuesday, Britain’s blue-chip stock index, the FTSE 100, broke through the 9,000-point barrier for the first time ever, taking its 2025 gains to more than 10% — thus far beating the S&P 500, at just over 6%. Though the index then fell back below this benchmark, closing nearly 60 points lower by the end of the session, reaching the milestone could signify a shift in investor confidence about UK business. 

But why is the FTSE only now hitting new highs — and which companies are actually in it?

The FTSE is made up of the 100 largest stocks on the London Stock Exchange, counting AstraZeneca (worth ~$217 billion), HSBC (~$214 billion), and Shell (~$206 billion) among its biggest constituents. 

Dino-soar

Per the Guardian, the FTSE has previously been referred to as a “Jurassic Park” index owing to a lack of fast-growing tech players and reliance on long-standing industries like finance and energy — with the latter making up 9% of the index’s total ~2.3 trillion pounds (~$3 trillion) value between just two companies at the time of writing. Currently, defense stocks are the FTSE’s top performers, with BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce up ~63% and ~70%, respectively, since the start of the year.

These dependable companies have become increasingly appealing to investors during market turmoil. Even though the majority (~75%) of the FTSE’s earnings is still derived from abroad, its reliance on industry stalwarts has become a boon for the index, rather than a bane. (It also doesn’t hurt that uncertainty from the trade war has seen more international investors turn away from the US and the EU.)