This year has seen some big swings in markets, with both sharp falls and record highs, driven by a number of key stories.
That includes US president Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, with his unveiling of sweeping levies on “Liberation Day” in April leading to a sell-off in markets globally. Investors have continued to monitor tariff negotiations since then, particularly between the US and China.
Geopolitical tensions have also been in focus, as investors have watched developments closely around conflict in both the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.
Another topic in the spotlight this year has been AI, with the release of a cheaper model by Chinese company DeepSeek rattling investors back in January. Later on in the year, concerns about the level of company spending on AI and the rapid rise in valuations of US Big Tech firms, sparked fears of an “AI bubble” in markets.
Inflation, employment figures and other economic data have also been closely monitored, as investors have tried to gauge what this could mean for central banks’ outlooks for interest rates.
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Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: “The combination of Liberation Day’s tariffs, wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, worries over the long-term impact of artificial intelligence upon jobs, galloping government debts and stretched budgets and active debate about stock market bubbles does not look like a favourable one for investors, but many will look back upon 2025 with contentment.
“Equities, bonds and commodities all provided positive returns, to varying degrees, and hopes for interest rate cuts, cooling inflation and steady, if unspectacular, economic growth give grounds for optimism in 2026 as well, although ructions in the cryptocurrency arena and the ongoing surges in gold and silver may yet be harbingers of heightened volatility in the year ahead.”
The UK’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) has risen more than 20% this year, at the time of writing, while the pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) has climbed nearly 16%. In the US, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 15%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) has advanced 19% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) has risen nearly 13%. Meanwhile, in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (^HSI) is up 28% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) has risen 24%.
A number of stocks made headlines this year but here’s which ones were most searched, according to Yahoo UK search data.
Bank Lloyds (LLOY.L) once again topped the list of most-searched stocks and has long been a popular stock with investors.
Despite taking a hit from setting aside funds to cover costs relating to the car financing scandal, Lloyds shares are up 76.2% at the time of writing.
In its third quarter results, released in October, Lloyds posted a 36% fall in profit before tax to £1.17bn ($1.57bn), although this was better than expectations of £1.04bn, according to consensus figures provided by the bank.
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Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said that while most UK-listed banks have had a strong year, “it was Lloyds who led the pack in 2025”. The stock delivered a total return of 81% this year, including dividends.
“The share price rally is down to solid business progress, interest rates staying higher for longer, and profit progression,” said Coatsworth.
At the same time, he said that there is “a price to pay for that success”, pointing out that Lloyds’ shares are now their most expensive since early 2021 on a price-to-earnings basis and are at a 10-year high on a price-to-book basis.
“Perhaps we won’t be seeing it in 2026’s list of top [FTSE 100] performers, unless it does something very special indeed,” he said.
It’s been a turbulent year for electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA), as sales have fallen amid backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political activities.
Musk’s role heading up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost-cutting advisory body earlier in the year sparked protests at Tesla facilities around the world. After leaving DOGE in May, a public feud between Musk and Trump erupted, putting further pressure on shares.
As Musk stepped back from Washington, amid further weakness in Tesla sales, the billionaire pledged to spend more time at the EV company.
Despite continued disappointing financial performance from Tesla, shareholders approved a $1tn (£740m) pay package for Musk in November.
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Later in the year investor focus turned to developments around Tesla’s Robotaxi, with shares hitting a new record high in mid-December, after Musk confirmed that testing was underway on the vehicles with no occupants in the car.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: “It’s been a tough run for the EV company, which has struggled to shake off its CEO’s politics and huge issues with competition from Chinese manufacturers.
“Tesla has never just been a car maker; its value has always been linked to potential technological advances. But it will have to recover some significant ground lost to Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Waymo which is already operating hundreds of thousands of rides every week.”
“Investors have put their faith in Elon Musk to the point that they’re prepared to make him even richer than he already is if he can deliver all that he’s promised, ” she added. “The test will be whether he can deliver it sooner rather than later.”
Another UK bank which was among the most-searched stocks this year was Barclays (BARC.L), with shares having risen 74.2% at the time of writing.
Barclays has continued to deliver strong results this year, leading the bank to raise its guidance for 2025 in its third quarter results making it one of the top performing stocks on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE).
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Commenting more broadly on the sector, Hargreaves Lansdown’s senior equity analyst Matt Britzman said: “UK banks have been one of the quiet success stories of 2025, outperforming US markets and even the high-flying tech sector”.
“Having rebounded from deeply depressed valuations a couple of years ago, the sector is now benefiting from strong balance sheets, dependable income, and interest rates that remain in a supportive sweet spot,” he said.
Telecoms giant BT (BT-A.L) was the fourth most-searched stock, with shares up 26.4% year-to-date.
In its half-year results, published in early November, BT delivered mixed performance. Revenue for the six months ended 30 September was 3% lower than the same period as last year, at £9.8bn. Profit after tax was down 14% to £651m.
However, BT increased its interim dividend to 2.45p per share, up from 2.4p per share for the same period last year.
In addition, the telco also reconfirmed its full-year guidance, saying it expected adjusted group revenue to come in at approximately £20bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be in the range of £8.2bn to £8.3bn.
Another FTSE 100 (^FTSE) name on the list was Tesco (TSCO.L), with shares having gained 18.7% this year at the time of writing, as the UK supermarket has continued to build on its leading market share.
In its interim results, released at the beginning of October, Tesco reported 5.1% growth in group sales at £33.1bn.
Adjusted operating profit increased by 1.6% to £1.67bn, though profit after tax fell 9.6% to £950m for the period.
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Even so, Tesco raised its group adjusted operating profit guidance for the year to between £2.9bn and £3.1bn, up from its previously expected range of £2.7bn to £3bn.
In a note on 10 December, Deutsche Bank analysts, which have a “buy” rating on the stock, said: “We remain positive on the UK food retail sector into 2026 and see scope for further earnings momentum at Tesco back by strong execution and market share growth.
“Tesco has strengthened its relative pricing position and improved its brand perception.”
The rest of the top 10 most-searched stocks this year was also made up of UK-listed blue chip stocks, with aero-engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.L) in sixth place, followed by financial services firm Aviva (AV.L), oil major BP (BP.L), British Gas owner Centrica (CNA.L) and bank HSBC (HSBA.L).
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