UK stock market winners and losers: August 2026
One UK market did better than any other global index in August, and many domestic stocks had a great month. Graeme Evans reveals the best of the bunch.
1st September 2026 15:35
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
The FTSE AIM 100 outshone the Nasdaq 100 in August as the FTSE 100 index trailed both benchmarks after a poor run for Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB) and British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS).
BP (LSE:BP.), Tesco (LSE:TSCO), NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) and HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) also lost value but, with Glencore (LSE:GLEN), Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) and Aviva (LSE:AV.) still performing well, the FTSE 100 ended the month broadly unchanged at 10,767.
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The FTSE 250 index rose 4% after 30 stocks including Ithaca Energy Ordinary Share (LSE:ITH) and WPP (LSE:WPP) rose by 10% or more to help the mid-cap benchmark end the month at a record close of 24,939.
A strong earnings season also sustained Wall Street risk appetite as the S&P 500 index set more all-time highs on the way to an advance of 3%, while the robust performances of heavyweight constituents Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) ensured the Nasdaq 100 added 4%.
Global stock markets
| Index | Price | August (%) | Since Iran war (%) | 2026 (%) |
| FTSE AIM 100 | 3705 | 7.4 | -4.1 | 1.4 |
| FTSE AIM All-Share | 798 | 6.4 | -2.7 | 4.2 |
| NASDAQ 100 | 29457 | 4.1 | 18.0 | 16.7 |
| NASDAQ Composite | 26371 | 4.1 | 16.3 | 13.5 |
| FTSE 250 | 24530 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 9.2 |
| DAX Xetra (Germany) | 26031 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 6.3 |
| FTSE All-World | 757 | 3.3 | 8.6 | 12.6 |
| Nikkei 225 | 66312 | 3.2 | 12.7 | 31.7 |
| SSE Composite Index (Shanghai) | 3986 | 3.1 | -4.2 | 0.4 |
| S&P 500 | 7686 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 12.3 |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53186 | 2.1 | 8.6 | 10.7 |
| Swiss Market Index | 14286 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 7.6 |
| FTSE All-Share | 5804 | 0.1 | -0.8 | 8.5 |
| FTSE 100 | 10767 | -0.4 | -1.3 | 8.4 |
| S&P BSE 100 Index (Mumbai) | 25801 | -0.5 | -2.4 | -5.6 |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25330 | -1.2 | -4.9 | -1.2 |
| CAC 40 (Paris) | 8320 | -1.3 | -3.0 | 2.1 |
| Bovespa Stock Index (Brazil) | 177419 | -1.3 | -1.0 | 10.1 |
Source: ShareScope. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
On the AIM 100, a big jump in value by powerhouse stock Greatland Resources Ltd (LSE:GGP) meant the UK’s junior market eclipsed the gains of global benchmarks with a rise of 7.4%.
Greatland, whose current market value of £4.5 billion is £1.7 billion more than AIM’s next largest stock Jet2 Ordinary Shares (LSE:JET2), registered a 30% share price rise during August.
Record gold and copper prices have boosted Greatland during its first full year of ownership of the Telfer mine, which is one of Australia’s largest gold-copper mining complexes.
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The resurgence of precious metal prices in August, with gold up by 10% and silver 15% more expensive, meant Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) and Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) topped the FTSE 100 performance charts with respective gains of 34.6% and 28.1% last month.
Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) rose 54.7% and Pan African Resources (LSE:PAF) jumped 47.9% in the FTSE 250 but they were beaten to the top of the FTSE 250 by a 55.3% rebound for Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LSE:ONT).
FTSE 250 risers in August
| Company | Price | Market cap (£m) | August (%) | Since Iran war (%) | 2026 (%) | Forward dividend yield (%) | Forward PE |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LSE:ONT) | 166p | £1,619 | 55.3 | 24.7 | 29.3 | ||
| Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) | 622.25p | £3,201 | 54.7 | -23.0 | 21.2 | 1.4 | 12.3 |
| Pan African Resources (LSE:PAF) | 127.8p | £2,591 | 47.9 | -28.7 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 8.0 |
| Kainos Group (LSE:KNOS) | 1221p | £1,408 | 41.6 | 61.7 | 21.6 | 2.6 | 23.8 |
| Hays (LSE:HAS) | 74.925p | £1,176 | 36.3 | 84.7 | 33.1 | 0.8 | 40.7 |
| Harworth Group (LSE:HWG) | 177.9p | £579 | 35.6 | 0.8 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 10.3 |
| WPP (LSE:WPP) | 374.55p | £4,040 | 28.1 | 36.2 | 11.0 | 3.9 | 7.3 |
| Bodycote (LSE:BOY) | 953.5p | £1,615 | 26.4 | 22.2 | 36.6 | 2.6 | 18.3 |
| Atalaya Mining Copper SA (LSE:ATYM) | 1056p | £1,624 | 25.2 | 2.7 | 23.5 | 1.5 | 10.6 |
Source: ShareScope. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
With copper exposure the main focus of the recent results season, the shares of Rio Tinto Ordinary Shares (LSE:RIO) and Glencore rose 7% and 9.7% respectively and Anglo American (LSE:AAL) surged 14.4%.
Alongside the miners, Computacenter (LSE:CCC) ranked as August’s third-best stock as the FTSE 100 newcomer surged another 23.3% in the wake of July’s latest upgrade to profit guidance.
The IT services firm continues to reap the benefit of strong volume growth among US-based hyperscale customers.
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Computacenter leads the FTSE 100 in terms of 2026 performance, with growth of 87.2% prior to today’s session ahead of 48% by Glencore and the 38% of Polar Capital Technology Ord (LSE:PCT).
Rolls-Royce is up by about 28% in 2026, including a rise of 4.3% in August after half-year results showed more strong growth in its end markets of civil aerospace, defence and power systems.
FTSE 100 risers in August
| Company | Price | Market cap (£m) | August (%) | Since Iran war (%) | 2026 (%) | Forward dividend yield (%) | Forward PE |
| Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) | 4383.5p | £10,565 | 34.6 | -17.1 | 13.2 | 3.1 | 11.3 |
| Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) | 2992.5p | £22,052 | 28.1 | -29.4 | -10.2 | 4.1 | 14.3 |
| Computacenter (LSE:CCC) | 5485p | £5,756 | 23.3 | 72.8 | 87.2 | 1.6 | 25.2 |
| Lion Finance Group (LSE:BGEO) | 13350p | £5,750 | 15.6 | 14.8 | 43.5 | 2.7 | 8.4 |
| Anglo American (LSE:AAL) | 4135p | £44,306 | 14.4 | 11.7 | 34.0 | 1.1 | 35.0 |
| Melrose Industries (LSE:MRO) | 495.15p | £6,170 | 13.4 | -12.5 | -15.8 | 1.6 | 14.7 |
| St James's Place (LSE:STJ) | 1175.5p | £5,899 | 12.6 | -12.9 | -15.1 | 2.0 | 14.0 |
| Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) | 1460p | £15,505 | 12.2 | 18.0 | 23.1 | ||
| Sage Group (The) (LSE:SGE) | 1077.5p | £9,683 | 12.2 | 31.1 | -0.5 | 2.2 | 21.9 |
Source: ShareScope. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
The shares of BP and Shell shares have jumped by about 24% this year, although the return of the Brent crude price above $90 a barrel failed to prevent falls of 6.9% and 1.2% in August.
Banking stocks began the month at post-financial crisis highs, including the FTSE 100’s most valuable business HSBC Holdings. It drifted 3% in August but is still 30% higher across 2026.
Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) and NatWest have also fared well in recent years, although signs of increased competition and higher tax burden fears left the lenders down 4% last month.
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The strong summer for Tesco shares also fizzled out as investors focused on the outlook for shallow volume growth, as well as cost pressures and heightened competitive intensity.
Last month’s 6.6% share price decline left the UK market leader 5.3% higher for the year to date, while Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY)’s declined 7.2% to stand 3.8% higher.
The worst performers in the FTSE 100 index were Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco, down by around 10% after the spike in government bond yields diminished the appeal of higher-yielding defensive stocks such as those in the tobacco sector.
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