We might have thought we'd seen it all after 2020 but it's been quite a year in 2021 too with an impressive rebound for the markets from the ravages of the pandemic.But which stocks have done best? Read on to discover the top performers up and down the market cap spectrum and find out why they've done so well. For the purposes of this article we've deliberately excluded investment trusts.£4 billi

UK shares finished higher on Friday with the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closing 0.3% higher at 7,304, taking the gain over the last month to 4.3% and closing in on a new two year high.US markets made new all-time highs across the board with the economically sensitive Russell 2000 index particularly strong, rising 1.4% reflecting renewed confidence in the strength of the economy after positiv

UK and European stocks continued their ascent on Friday as investors digested the more dovish tones seen from both the US Fed and the Bank of England.All eyes will be on the monthly US non-farm payrolls data due out over lunchtime with investors looking for an acceleration of job hires in October. Meanwhile positive US earnings reports gave a boost to pre-market futures.Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer

London's FTSE traded 0.43% higher at 7,311.38 points early on Friday, as banks rebounded after yesterday's falls, triggered by the Bank of England's surprise decision to leave rates on hold, while telecoms titan BT (BT.A) rose again after reinstating the dividend yesterday.Following the central bank led excitement of the past few days, investors' attentions turned to the keenly-watched US jobs fig