The UK stock market has performed robustly over the past year, with several companies standing out significantly. In this article, we will examine the top-performing large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stocks of 2024, dissected across four different market valuation categories.£5 BILLION+ MARKET CAPAfter a stellar 2023, aeronautical engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.) has once again rallied hard during 2024

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 602pMarket cap: £732 millionThe market has a well-understood tendency to overshoot and undershoot, and in the case of pub group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) we think it has pushed the shares much too low given the qualities of the business and the risks it faces.Considering the company raised its earnings guidance last month and reinstated the dividend thanks to 'robust' like-for-lik

Justice Department leading the chargeGoogle's search dominance under fireBreak-up the ultimate optionIn a court filing on Tuesday, the US Justice Department said it was considering asking a federal judge to force tech giant Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) to break up Google on competition grounds.The news emerged after US markets had closed, where Alphabet shares were up $0.80 at $165.70, leaving them flat

Aeronautical engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.) is not going to be caught up in a new crisis after airline Cathay Pacific (0293:HKG) found a fault with the engines used 'on its fleet of Airbus (AIR:EPA) A350 jets.This was the prevailing mood among investors and analysts as the dust settled on a late afternoon trading session on 2 September following reports that a Rolls-Royce component failure led Cathay

Investors see optimism after panic sell-offJefferies analysts see limited impactRolls-Royce shares rallied 585% in two yearsAero-engineer Rolls Royce (RR.) is near the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Tuesday (3 Sep) after analysts increasingly suggest a component failure that led airline Cathay Pacific (0293:HKG) to cancel some Airbus (AIR:EPA) A350 flights is probably less serious than Monday'

It was a week of ups and downs for the US market as investors awaited Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's address to the Jackson Hole Symposium on 23 August.<img src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/O7wOm/full.png" alt="" data-mce-fragment="1" data-mce-src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/O7wOm/full.png"><span id="mce_marker" data-mce-type="bookmark" data

The biggest brands often draw in investors who believe these giants of industry are surefire winners on the stock market. Nike (NKE:NYSE) has shown that brand achievements do not always equate to strong earnings and this is a lesson worth remembering if brand strength has ever influenced investment decisions.Nike has taken its eye off the ball in the sporting shoes market. Two sets of rivals have

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were in the green on Thursday morning, with Brits heading to polling stations to vote in the general election.Based on surveys leading up to election day, it looks like Labour will win a majority, ousting the Tory's after nearly a decade and a half in power.Across the channel, French voters went to the polls for the first round of the legislative election on Sunday, and t

First half like-for-like sales up 7%Momentum continues into second halfFull year profit expected to be at top end of expectationsPubs group Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) smashed first half sales and profit forecasts and said the full year was likely to be at the top end of expectations, sending shares in the All-Bar-One and Toby carvery operator to the top of the FTSE mid-cap leaderboard, gaining as m

Investors in London continued to show confidence, as stocks at the open on Tuesday added to Monday?s gains, boosted by the prospect of interest rate cuts.The FTSE 100 index opened up 33.06 points, 0.4%, at 8,056.93. The FTSE 250 was up 54.48 points, 0.3%, at 19,653.87, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.14 points, 0.3%, at 751.32.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 804.24, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 17

If you had £10,000 to invest in a single fund, which would you choose ? one of the most popular with retail investors for more than a decade, or a relative new kid on the block with a similar asset allocation approach?In a manner of speaking, it is what billionaire City grandee Michael Spencer challenged formidable money man and Fundsmith Equity (B41YBW7) founder Terry Smith at the end of 2023, t

Can investors expect slumping stocks to bounce back? The obvious answer to this question is, it depends which stocks, and why they slumped. Share prices fall for many reasons. Some remain unloved, cast aside by equity markets like sodden paper bags. Others recover, fixing perceived problems and re-emerging from the equities' emergency room.Digging around the debris of past disasters is what so-cal

Retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) is the gift that keeps on giving. Its share price is up 162% since October 2022, dividends are back after a four-year absence, and analysts keep finding reasons to upgrade earnings forecasts. In fact, the analyst consensus earnings estimate has increased 11 times this year, according to Stockopedia data.Earnings growth is a key driver for share price growth so it mak

The FTSE 100 ended lower on Monday, as investors kept a wary eye on continuing tensions in the Middle East, as well as the surging yield on the 10-year US Treasury note.The FTSE 100 index closed down 27.31 points, 0.4%, at 7,374.83. The FTSE 250 ended up 26.26 points, 0.2%, at 17,058.99, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.52 points, or 0.4%, at 680.41.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.4% at 736.03, th

European stocks were lower heading into Monday afternoon, starting the week off in a tepid fashion as concerns around tensions in the Middle East and rising US bond yields hurting equities hurting.The yield on the US 10-year government bond topped 5.00% for the first time since the height of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007.The FTSE 100 index was down 45.56 points, 0.6%, at 7,356.58. The FTSE

Restaurant Group sells underperforming leisure divisionNominal price of £1 plus cash contribution of £7.5 millionProposed sale accelerates margin accretion and debt reduction plansShares in Wagamama owner Restaurant Group (RTN) jumped a further 7% to 50.6p on Monday, taking gains over the last five trading sessions to over 16% after the company agreed to sell its leisure division to private equi

London's FTSE 100 was hurt by China-exposed stocks, amid growth worries about the world's second-largest economy, while travel shares also failed to reach dizzying heights.Ocado's stock did, however, boosted by a favourable legal ruling. The 'Barbenheimer' box office event lifted cinema chains, meanwhile.On the foreign exchange front, the dollar gained on the euro and pound ahead of a US purchasin

Ten Entertainment continues to deliver sales growthUp 46% on pre-Covid levels on a like-for-like basisShares up 3.6%, with peer Hollywood Bowl up 2.4%A robust update from bowling alley operator Ten Entertainment (TEG) drew a positive response from the market and also helped lift shares in its rival Hollywood Bowl (BOWL).In a trading statement covering the six-month period to 2 July Ten, which oper

Revolution Beauty surges 57% after suspension liftedSpat with major shareholder Boohoo intensifiesBoohoo accused of attempting boardroom coupThere's nothing beautiful about the spat between online fast fashion retailer Boohoo (BOO:AIM) and make-up supplier Revolution Beauty (REVB:AIM), in fact it has turned downright ugly.Revolution Beauty's top shareholder wants the company to call a general meet

If most of us are asked to name a bank with large exposure to Asia, the likelihood is the first name that comes to mind is HSBC (HSBA) rather than its smaller rival Standard Chartered (STAN).In fairness, having been established in Hong Kong and Shanghai more than 150 years ago to help finance the burgeoning trade between the island, the mainland and Japan, the 'grande dame' of Asian banking HSBC i