Experts are split on the importance of the FTSE 100 breaking 9,000 for UK investors and the market.
For some, it is a sign of the UK market’s continued resilience and growing appeal, despite 2025 being defined by international trade volatility and uncertain domestic fiscal policy.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “It’s party time as the FTSE 100 has smashed through the 9,000 level. This is another big tick in what’s proving to be a momentous year for the UK stock market”.
So far this year, the domestic blue-chip index has surged by 12.5%, making it the second-best performing developed market (in sterling). The Euro STOXX is up 21.3%, while MSCI Emerging Markets gained 8.1%. Japan is up 1.7% but the S&P 500 is down 0.2%.
The FTSE 100 has managed to outperform the S&P 500 by almost 13 percentage points during this period, a “major achievement” that should help convince overseas investors that the UK market isn’t “dull and boring”, according to Coatsworth.
While the UK market may lack the technological opportunities found in the US, it excels in other areas such as financials, healthcare and industrials and is benefiting from a wave of reforms.
The initial public offering (IPO) process will be sped up to convince more companies to list in the UK, while quoted companies won’t have to publish detailed documents to raise more money, Coatsworth explained.
With strong performances from the UK market so far this year, streamlined regulations and falling cash interest rates, engagement with the UK market is becoming a “more natural avenue to pursue”, he concluded.
Ben Russon, co-head of UK equities at Martin Currie, is similarly positive.
“The FTSE 100 has soared past the 9,000 mark for the first time, proving the doubters wrong and showcasing the strength of the UK market,” he said.
This builds on strong long-term total returns. Over the past five years, the FTSE 100 has surged 71%, (as of 30 June), or an average return of about 11.3% per year, with Russons saying this is “clear evidence that the UK remains a smart choice for global investors”.
However, while the FTSE 100 has broken a record, “savvy investors are also eyeing the FTSE 250”, where good stocks are trading on significant discounts to large-cap counterparts.
These small-cap companies are on the brink of a “consumer-driven revival”. The Bank of England, signalling the start of a cost-cutting cycle and stronger consumer balance sheets, is providing a tailwind for these more domestically exposed smaller companies.
This is increasingly attracting the attention of international investors, according to Russon. In a period where the dollar’s dominance looks challenging, attractive valuations and a stronger pound are capturing the attention of international private equity investors and demonstrating further interest in the UK market.
Russon concluded: “The FTSE 100 reaching new heights signals renewed confidence and underscores the UK’s position as a vibrant market brimming with opportunity. All signs point to the UK heading in the right direction.”
However, some experts are slightly sceptical.
Adam Norris, co-manager of the CT Global Managed Portfolio Trust, explained that the FTSE 100 piercing 9,000 is an “interesting psychological investor threshold” but the outlook for UK equities is still “less sanguine”.
The market's extreme discount in comparison to competitors is “mostly a feature of its sector composition, rather than any particular UK discount”.
Additionally, earnings growth within the UK has been revised lower this year, which is another underwhelming development for the market, Norris said.
In the UK itself, Norris argued the real value is in small- and mid-caps, where companies are growing faster than their equivalents and being bolstered by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity.
As a result, Norris and his team have been taking profits from the UK and reallocating to other markets with more resilient earnings growth or discounts, such as emerging markets or private equity.
Andy O’Shea, investment director at Pharon Independent Financial Advisors, added that while the index breaking 9,000 is “good to see” it may not be the most relevant for domestic investors.
He said this is because the constituents of the FTSE 100 generate a “significant portfolio of their earnings from overseas markets” and, as such, may not be the best indicator of how attractive UK companies are.
A more relevant index to judge how attractive the UK is for investors is the more domestically exposed FTSE 250 or small-cap indexes. While he favours funds in these areas, they remain a “long way from their highs in September 2021”, when the mid-cap index peaked at 24,580 and the small-cap index reached 7,612.