FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 winners and losers in July 2026
It was a cracking month for many stocks and for the UK stock market versus overseas rivals. City writer Graeme Evans explains why.
4th August 2026 15:50
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
July’s UK rotation included gains of almost a fifth for the shares of Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD), BP (LSE:BP.) and Sage Group (The) (LSE:SGE) as the FTSE 100 index registered the best performance of Europe’s major benchmarks.
The rise of 3.5% by 31 July’s closing bell to the brink of a new record at 10,905 contrasted with the flat result of the S&P 500 index and 6.5% slide of the tech-focused Nasdaq 100.
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However, the UK’s blue-chip performance was no match for the Hang Seng index after Hong Kong’s flagship benchmark followed June’s slump with a rebound of 13.1%.
The FTSE 100 index was also beaten by the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which rose 4.2% in July to trade above the 24,000 threshold for the first time since September 2021.
The second tier has lifted 14% from its low point of the year in late March, with recruitment stocks among those in demand over the last month as heavily sold Hays (LSE:HAS) jumped 81% and Page Group by 71%. Both are still cheaper than their level of a year ago.
The turnaround potential of WPP (LSE:WPP) also drew interest following a rally of 27%, alongside gains of 65% and 39% for Rotork (LSE:ROR) and MITIE Group (LSE:MTO) after they agreed takeover deals.
FTSE 100 top five performers in July
| Performance (%) | |||||||
| Company | July | 1 month | Since Iran war | 2026 | 1 year | Forward yield | Forward PE |
| Sage Group (The) (LSE:SGE) | 19.3 | 19.9 | 21.7 | -7.7 | -15.9 | 2.4 | 20.0 |
| Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD) | 18.3 | 18.6 | 2.2 | 18.4 | 41.2 | 3.5 | 12.8 |
| BP (LSE:BP.) | 18.3 | 19.5 | 16.8 | 28.9 | 37.4 | 4.6 | 7.8 |
| Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB) | 17.8 | 13.8 | -12.5 | -4.9 | 16.6 | 0.9 | 17.7 |
| Shell (LSE:SHEL) | 15.4 | 18.1 | 11.1 | 24.7 | 27.3 | 3.4 | 8.2 |
Source: ShareScope 4 August 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
FTSE 100 bottom five performers in July
| Performance (%) | |||||||
| Company | July | 1 month | Since Iran war | 2026 | 1 year | Forward yield | Forward PE |
| AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) | -10.4 | -19.0 | -24.6 | -15.0 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 15.0 |
| Halma (LSE:HLMA) | -10.3 | -9.9 | -13.6 | 2.2 | 11.2 | 0.7 | 27.5 |
| Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) | -9.7 | -12.5 | -39.7 | -23.3 | 78.2 | 5.8 | 11.3 |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) | -9.6 | -10.9 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 12.8 | 2.2 | 7.9 |
| Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) | -9.5 | -9.0 | 10.2 | 15.0 | 26.1 | - | - |
Source: ShareScope 4 August 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
In terms of FTSE 250 earnings, Funding Circle Holdings (LSE:FCH) got the strongest reception after the business lending platform’s “standout” half-year performance triggered a 49% advance.
The worst of the FTSE 250 were Raspberry Pi Holdings (LSE:RPI) and Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR) as declines of 20% and 32% continued the volatility of this year, although the shares are still up 125% and 75% respectively in 2026.
FTSE 250 top five performers in July
| Performance (%) | |||||||
| Company | July | 1 month | Since Iran war | 2026 | 1 year | Forward yield | Forward PE |
| Hays (LSE:HAS) | 80.9 | 72.5 | 45.9 | 5.1 | -4.3 | 0.7 | 52.9 |
| Michael Page (LSE:PAGE) | 70.9 | 62.1 | 0.2 | -20.2 | -28.0 | 4.5 | 36.4 |
| Rotork (LSE:ROR) | 64.6 | 59.9 | 26.0 | 49.4 | 53.5 | 1.8 | 27.8 |
| Funding Circle Holdings (LSE:FCH) | 48.8 | 35.9 | 58.4 | 82.0 | 68.1 | 21.3 | |
| CMC Markets (LSE:CMCX) | 45.6 | -1.7 | 111.0 | 130.0 | 201.0 | 2.5 | 12.8 |
Source: ShareScope 4 August 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
FTSE 250 bottom five performers in July
| Performance (%) | |||||||
| Company | July | 1 month | Since Iran war | 2026 | 1 year | Forward yield | Forward PE |
| Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR) | -31.9 | -29.1 | 24.4 | 75.4 | 216.0 | ||
| Raspberry Pi Holdings (LSE:RPI) | -20.2 | -20.4 | 80.7 | 125.0 | 60.4 | 50.6 | |
| Edinburgh Worldwide Ord (LSE:EWI) | -20.0 | -16.4 | 2.5 | 13.0 | 26.8 | ||
| Seraphim Space Investment Trust Ord (LSE:SSIT) | -18.6 | -14.3 | 9.8 | 38.2 | 95.1 | ||
| Plus500 Ltd (LSE:PLUS) | -18.3 | -23.3 | -3.7 | 6.3 | 12.2 | 2.9 | 12.7 |
Source: ShareScope 4 August 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Disappointing guidance on North America pest control revenues meant Rentokil Initial (LSE:RTO) finished July down 19% as one of the hardest-hit stocks in the FTSE 100. Games Workshop Group (LSE:GAW) also gave up 11.5% as results by the Warhammer firm encouraged investors to lock in profits.
AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) retreated 10% on the failure of a late-stage drug trial, while Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) Investment Trust dipped 9% amid a sharp fall back in the value of its Space Exploration Technologies Corp Class A (NASDAQ:SPCX) holding.
Brent crude’s 24% rise on renewed US-Iran tensions weighed on International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) following a 10% fall for shares but helped BP (LSE:BP.) and Shell (LSE:SHEL) to rise 18% and 15% respectively.
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In a month when US investors reassessed the durability of the AI trade, the old economy focus of the FTSE 100 index drew interest on the global stage.
Deutsche Bank also noted that investors were likely to have dialled back some of the political risk premium that had been priced before Andy Burnham became prime minister on 20 July.
The month included gains of about 13% for BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) and Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY), as well as 18% for telecoms stock Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD) after French billionaire Xavier Niel became its largest shareholder.
Sage Group (The) (LSE:SGE) produced July’s best FTSE 100 performance, up 19.3% as third-quarter results near the end of the month helped the accounting software firm to narrow its year-to-date decline to 8%.
Other notable performances included Marks & Spencer Group (LSE:MKS), which rose 9%, as well as Aviva (LSE:AV.) and Tesco (LSE:TSCO) after advances of 7%. Among those in July’s results spotlight, LexisNexis firm RELX (LSE:REL) rose 10% and Reckitt Benckiser Group (LSE:RKT) by 7% over the course of the month.
Global stock market performance
| Performance (%) | |||||
| Index | July | 1 month | Since Iran war | 2026 | 1 year |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 13.1 | 10.7 | -2.9 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| FTSE 250 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 8.1 | 11.1 |
| FTSE 100 | 3.5 | 2.1 | -0.1 | 9.8 | 19.5 |
| Bovespa Stock Index (Brazil) | 3.5 | 2.3 | -0.7 | 10.5 | 33.9 |
| DAX Xetra (Germany) | 2.5 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 7 | 10.3 |
| S&P BSE 100 Index (Mumbai) | 2.4 | 1.7 | -0.8 | -4 | 1.3 |
| FTSE AIM UK 50 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 5.1 | 2 |
| CAC 40 (Paris) | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 5.9 | 13.1 |
| Swiss Market Index | 1.1 | -0.4 | 2.6 | 8.2 | 21.6 |
| Dow Jones | 0.3 | 0.5 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 20.4 |
| S&P 500 | -0.1 | 1.6 | 10.5 | 11 | 20.1 |
| FTSE AIM All-Share | -1.3 | -0.7 | -5.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| NASDAQ Composite | -3.2 | 0.3 | 14.3 | 11.5 | 23.1 |
| SSE Composite Index (Shanghai) | -6.4 | -5.8 | -8.5 | -4 | 6.3 |
| NASDAQ 100 | -6.6 | -1.9 | 15.3 | 14 | 24.1 |
| Nikkei 225 | -8.1 | -8.6 | 8.3 | 26.6 | 58.2 |
Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
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