The FTSE’s best and worst stocks in 2011

UK equity managers who were overweight defensives at the start of the year – or earlier – had to be patient at first, but were rewarded at the start of July when cyclicals fell firmly out of favour.

A look at the winners over the past six months illustrates the turnaround: Imperial Tobacco rose 17%, while GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical giant, gained 13%.

Early pacemakers Aggreko and ARM Holdings remain among the year’s biggest gainers, but have dropped since the middle of June.

Elsewhere, Next’s ability to weather the headwinds facing UK retail, and the consistent earnings per share growth seen at drugmaker Shire, meant they were both rewarded with significant share price gains.

Among the losers, the two that suffered the most were out of favour throughout 2011: Essar Energy and Lloyds Banking Group. The latter was the most traded stock in the FTSE 100 this year but suffered from concerns over both legacy assets and growth prospects at home and abroad.

31/12/10-13/12/11. Source: Thomson Reuters