Rolls-Royce, IAG, Glencore among FTSE 100 big winners in May
Despite a good recovery in May, the blue-chip index lagged many other global markets including the big AIM stocks. City writer Graeme Evans runs through the best performers.
3rd June 2025 15:21
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
Gains of 10% or more by Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.), Glencore (LSE:GLEN) and 20 other blue-chip stocks failed to prevent the FTSE 100 index ranking among the global market laggards during May.
Last month’s advance of 3.3% left the UK’s premier benchmark up by 7.2% in the year-to-date, which includes a bounce of more than 13.5% from the tariffs low point for the year on 9 April.
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Other stock markets with a stronger tech weighting fared much better in the month, as the S&P 500 index rose 6.2% for its biggest gain in 18 months and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lifted 5.3%.
The growth-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 9.6%, a performance only bettered by a surprise jump of 10.5% for the FTSE AIM UK 50.
The resurgence of the junior market owed much to the trading of £4 billion stock Jet2 Ordinary Shares (LSE:JET2), which rallied 17.5% in the month, and Fevertree Drinks (LSE:FEVR) after a 11% rise. The best AIM stock was ITM Power (LSE:ITM), up 84% after a series of project and contract announcements, followed by H&T Group (LSE:HAT) and FD Technologies (LSE:FDP), which are both the subject of takeovers.
Market index | Price | Change in May (%) | Change year to date (%) |
FTSE AIM UK 50 | 4,175 | 10.5 | 7.1 |
NASDAQ Composite | 19,243 | 9.6 | -0.4 |
FTSE AIM All-Share | 752 | 8.1 | 4.5 |
DAX Xetra (Germany) | 23,953 | 6.7 | 20.3 |
S&P 500 | 5,936 | 6.2 | 0.9 |
FTSE 250 | 21,052 | 5.8 | 2.1 |
Nikkei 225 | 37,447 | 5.3 | -6.1 |
Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 23,513 | 5.3 | 17.2 |
Dow Jones | 42,306 | 3.9 | -0.6 |
FTSE All-Share | 4,766 | 3.6 | 6.7 |
FTSE 100 | 8,785 | 3.3 | 7.5 |
S&P BSE 100 (Mumbai) | 25,947 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
SSE Composite (Shanghai) | 3,347 | 2.1 | -0.1 |
CAC 40 (Paris) | 7,724 | 2.1 | 4.7 |
Bovespa (Brazil) | 136,787 | 1.5 | 13.7 |
Swiss Index | 12,233 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
Source: ShareScope. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
May’s best stock in the FTSE 100 index was British Airways operator International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) after its first-quarter results and unchanged full-year outlook eased City fears about the potential impact of tariffs and economic turbulence on North Atlantic demand.
The 25.4% advance left IAG shares 10.5% higher for the year-to-date, resuming the recovery of the past couple of years.
Low-cost carrier easyJet (LSE:EZJ) is also in positive territory for 2025 after a 16.5% jump in May, while fellow leisure stock Whitbread (LSE:WTB) put back 11.6% to near break-even for the year.
Rolls-Royce rose 15% in May after starting the month with a confidence-boosting update that showed no change to guidance despite the uncertainty of tariffs.
As well as the ongoing recovery of civil aerospace flying hours, the group has been boosted by the City’s increased conviction in European and UK defence spending cycles.
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The shares are up 54% this year after setting a series of records during May, although the aerospace engineer trails behind Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB).
The naval dockyards business, which returned to the FTSE 100 in March after an absence of seven years, rose 16% in May and has doubled in value during 2025.
This feat has been matched by Fresnillo (LSE:FRES), which rose 16% last month after the gold price consolidated a 25% year-to-date rise at more than $3,300 an ounce.
The world’s leading silver producer and one of Mexico’s largest gold firms, Fresnillo was near a 15-year low in 2024 due to the revaluation of the peso and inflation headwinds.
Elsewhere in the resources sector, Glencore rallied 16% in May but is still 21.5% lower year-to-date. It slid to levels last seen in 2020-21 during April amid fears over the impact of tariffs on China demand for coal and other key commodities.
Other top-performing stocks in May included Barclays (LSE:BARC) and NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) as City firms including Shore Capital scaled back their “haircut” for tariff-related geopolitical risk in the UK sector.
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The best month for the Magnificent Seven in two years lifted Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT) Trust, with the NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) investor up by 13% during May.
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings Ord (LSE:PSH) also rallied 10% to a break-even position for the year, a month when the fund increased its position in Google owner Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
Unsurprisingly given the improved investor sentiment, defensive-focused stocks featured among the worst-performing stocks in the FTSE 100. Results or trading updates were also a factor, but Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB), National Grid (LSE:NG.) and Kingfisher (LSE:KGF) are still more than 10% higher for the year.
Diageo (LSE:DGE) and Marks & Spencer Group (LSE:MKS) lost 4% in May, with the drinks giant now 22% below where it started the year and the retailer marginally higher after strong 2024-25 results were offset by a £300 million estimate on the impact of a recent cyber attack.
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