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In a year marked by record highs in markets and further uncertainty, here are some of the stocks that have reflected key trends and been closely monitored by investors.
Strong earnings, particularly out of the major US technology companies, have helped drive market movements this year.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit the 6,000 points mark in November on the back of Donald Trump's US election win. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) also recently topped 20,000 for the first time.
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In addition to record earnings, central banks started to cut interest rates as inflation cooled, which has further fuelled market momentum.
However, there have been elements of instability, with conflict in the Middle East and the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Investors have also had to contend with the uncertainty of election outcomes globally, with much focus on the US election and what could be on the cards once Trump returns to the White House in January.
Before turning to the coming year, here's a look at the global stocks that made headlines.
Lloyds (LLOY.L)
In the UK, Lloyds Banking Group has long been a popular stock with investors, partly because it has offered a solid rate of income for portfolios.
The stock currently has a dividend yield of 5.11%, according to Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.L). This is a measure of return and refers to the ratio of dividend that is paid out to investors as a proportion of the share price.
Lloyds announced an interim dividend of 1.06p a share in its half-year results in July, up 15% on the previous year.
In November, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) bank said that it had completed its £2bn ($2.5bn) share buyback programme, which is when companies repurchase their own shares and return the funds to investors.
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Robust financial results had helped drive Lloyds shares higher for most of the year, with the bank beating expectations in the latest third quarter and reiterating its full-year guidance.
However, the stock plummeted in late October after a court ruled that it was unlawful for car dealers to receive commissions from motor finance providers without having the customer's informed consent.
It is feared that the landmark ruling has paved the way for a multi-billion-pound redress scheme. Lloyds owns the UK's biggest motor finance provider Black Horse. The bank's CEO, Charlie Nunn, has warned that the UK's consumer finance sector is facing an "investability problem" in the wake of the ruling.
Deutsche Bank analyst Robert Noble said in a note published on 11 November he was keeping a "buy" rating on the stock.
"The court's ruling has opened up the possibility of 'full rescission'," he said. "Lloyds' substantial capital generation could swallow even this extremely unlikely event."
BT (BT-A.L)
Another stock on the list that investors like for its income is UK telecoms company BT, with a dividend yield of 5.47%, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.
BT announced an interim dividend of 2.4p per share in its half-year results, released in November, which was slightly higher than the payout of 2.31p it delivered for the same period last year.
That increase in dividend came despite the fact that BT posted a 3% dip in revenue to £10.1bn in the first six months of its fiscal year and an 11% fall in profit after tax to £755m.
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BT reiterated its full-year guidance on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation but revised its revenue estimates for the year to down 1% to 2%. It said this primarily reflected "weaker non-UK trading including reduced low-margin kit sales, along with a softer environment in the corporate and public sector".
Shares are up 18% year-to-date, though Barclays' equity research team said in a note on 10 December that they foresaw rising revenue headwinds for the company in 2025 and 2026, and downgraded their rating on the stock from "overweight" to "equal weight".
Tesco (TSCO.L)
FTSE 100-listed supermarket Tesco has maintained its lead as the UK's largest grocer, with Kantar data showing its market share grew to 28.1% in the 12 weeks to the beginning of December.
Shares are up 26% year-to-date, with the supermarket having upgraded its guidance for the year on the back of strong half-year results in October.
Tesco said group sales were up 3.5% in the first half to £31.5bn, compared to the same period last year, and adjusted operating profits had risen nearly 16% to £1.7bn.
As a result, it guided to adjusted operating profits for the year of around £2.9bn, up from "at least £2.8bn" in its previous estimate.
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In the results, Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said the supermarket had been the "cheapest full-line grocer for nearly two years".
That said, the supermarket had seen greater demand for its Finest premium products, with volumes up nearly 15% year-on-year and over 20 million customers shopping the range in the first half of its fiscal year.
In April, Tesco announced plans to buy back £1bn of shares in the following 12 months, and in the half-year results said that £2.4bn had been purchased since the launch of its capital return programme in October 2021.
BP (BP.L)
Despite poorer performance this year, as oil demand weakens, BP has continued to return funds to investors through dividends and buybacks.
The oil major announced a share buyback of $1.75bn (£1.39bn) in its third quarter results. This was part of its commitment to announce $3.5bn in purchases in the second half of the year. BP also declared a dividend of $0.08 per share, though that was still much lower than its peak payout of $0.105.
BP posted its weakest quarterly profit in nearly four years in its results in October. The oil major's underlying replacement cost profit, which is its metric used as a version of net income, had fallen 30% in the third quarter to $2.3bn.
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That net income figure was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, when BP posted an underlying replacement cost profit of $115m.
In a note on 10 December, Barclays kept an "overweight" rating on the stock. However, analysts said: "Progress and delivery from bp has fallen short of our expectations, with the cost base higher than intended and $16bn of low-carbon deals not showing the promise that the market wanted.
"Going forward, this has to change. BP needs to be simpler and more focused in order to deliver higher value."
Nvidia (NVDA)
Much of the market buzz this year has been around chipmaker Nvidia, considered to be a major beneficiary of investment globally in AI, as an enabler of this trend. The stock is up 164% year-to-date, having overtaken iPhone-maker Apple (AAPL) as the world's most valuable company at one point. However, it has since slipped back to second place with a market capitalisation of $3.2tn.
Investors have developed high expectations around Nvidia's results, with even slight misses in certain areas denting share price performance. The stock fell after the release of the company's third quarter results, as even though key metrics topped expectations, investors appeared disappointed by a decline gross margins and the company's guidance on revenue, fuelling concerns over slowing growth.
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Nvidia posted revenue of $35.1bn for the third quarter, which was well ahead of analysts estimates of $33.2bn. Earnings per share came in at $0.81, compared with expectations of $0.74.
However, gross margins were lower quarter-on-quarter from 75.1% to 74.6% and Nvidia guided to revenue of $37.5bn for the final quarter, plus or minus 2%, which would be just ahead of Wall Street expectations of $37bn.
Despite recent nervousness, many investors have remained bullish on the stock. For example, investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) had a "overweight" rating on the stock in its note on 21 November, saying it remained analysts' top pick in the semiconductor space and upped their price target on the stock from $160 to $168 per share.
Morgan Stanley's analysts said that while constraints around its AI Blackwell chip "are likely to be a major factor for at least a year ... we continue to see a strong Blackwell cycle as a driver for the stock for several quarters."
Tesla (TSLA)
A major catalyst in driving Tesla shares to fresh record highs over the past month has been Donald Trump's US election win.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a big supporter of Trump's campaign and has been appointed to co-lead the extra-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Investors believe that Trump's return to the White House could offer a more supportive policy environment for Tesla.
Shares in Tesla are up 76% year-to-date and even with some concerns around the lack of detail offered at the electric carmaker's robotaxi event in October, investors have remained bullish on the stock.
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In a note released on 10 December, Morgan Stanley analysts reiterated their overweight rating as their top pick out of the US automakers and raised the price target on the stock from $310 to $400.
"Elon Musk's entry into the political sphere has expanded investor thinking around Tesla’s fundamental outlook," they said.
They added that "Musk's emergence from a political ‘outsider’ to having a voice in potential policies may, at some level, accelerate Tesla’s journey beyond autos."
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has raised his price target on the stock even higher, to $515 per share. In addition to the potentially supportive environment under Trump, Ives said he was also optimistic about Tesla's progress on full self-driving technology.
Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B.CO)
For Danish pharmaceuticals firm Novo Nordisk, the story around the company over the past few years has been the growing popularity of its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
The Copenhagen-listed drugmaker is Europe's largest listed company, with a market capitalisation of 2.56 trillion Danish krone (£284bn).
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However, over the past few months shares have slumped, leaving it 12% in the red year-to-date.
In its third quarter results, Novo Nordisk said sales of Wegovy were up 79% year-on-year. However, the drugmaker narrowed its full-year sales growth guidance to between 23% and 27%.
Even so, investors have remained optimistic about the company, with Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Papadakis keeping a "buy" rating on the stock, according to a note released on 10 December.
ASML (ASML, ASML.AS)
Dutch company ASML is considered a barometer of the health of the global semiconductor industry, as it manufactures lithography machines that are key to making chips.
That's why its warning of a slower recovery in the semiconductor market and lowered sales guidance in its third quarter results triggered a sell-off in the sector in October.
In the quarterly results, which were accidentally released a day early, ASML said it expected net sales to rise to between €30bn and €35bn in 2025, which was the lower half of the range that it had provided back in 2022 during an investor day.
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Despite this, analysts have maintained strong ratings on the stock. In a Barclays (BARC.L) note on 18 November, the bank's equity research team kept an "overweight" rating on ASML.
They said that the company's recent capital markets day, which is a day for investors, was "largely reassuring".
"ASML addressed many concerns at its CMD which should provide some comfort on the scope for long-term growth," they said.
Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS)
Turning to India, the most valuable listed company in country is conglomerate Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS), with a market capitalisation of 17.16 trillion Indian rupees (£158bn).
Reliance – which is run by Asia's wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani – spans across a number of sectors, including energy, retail and media.
In recent developments for the business, Reliance and Disney (DIS) announced last month that they that they had completed the $8.5bn merger of their Indian media assets, to make the company Jio Star.
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The merged group, which will be India's largest entertainment company, will be split into three divisions: entertainment, digital and sports.
As for performance, Reliance posted consolidated revenues of $30.8bn in the second quarter, which was only marginally higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, the business saw a small decline in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $5.2bn.
While the stock logged strong growth in the first half of the year, shares have lagged since, leaving them 1% in the red year-to-date.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS)
India's second biggest company by market capitalisation is Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is the IT company that sits under conglomerate Tata Group.
The group's companies were in focus in October after it announced that its former chairman Ratan Tata had passed away at the age of 86.
The business tycoon led Tata Group, one of India's largest companies, for more than 20 years. In his time as chairman, the group made key acquisitions, including the purchase of British tea brand Tetley, as well as buying car brands British Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co (F).
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TCS has established a number of partnerships with businesses internationally, including French-Dutch airline company Air France-KLM (AF.PA) and UK clothing retailer Primark, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF.L).
In October, TCS also launched an Nvidia business unit to accelerate AI adoption for its customers across different industries.
In terms of company performance, TCS posted lower-than-expected profits in its second quarter, which led to a fall in its share price. However, TCS shares hit an all-time high in August and rebounded since falling on the back of October's results, leaving the stock 10% in the green year-to-date.
TSMC (2330.TW, TSM)
A bellweather for the global semiconductor industry is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is the world's largest contract chipmaker, manufacturing the designs of the likes of Nvidia.
When it released its latest results last month, which were better-than-expected, chip stocks rallied. TSMC's Taiwan-listed shares are up 75% year-to-date.
In the third quarter, TSMC's revenue in US dollars was up 36% year-on-year to $23.5bn and in the fourth quarter, the company said it expected revenue to come in between $26.1bn and $26.9bn.
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Speaking to Yahoo Finance at the time, TECHnalysis Research president and chief analyst Bob O'Donnell said he believed that TSMC was a "much better bellwether" for the AI chip trade.
“Bottom line, we saw not only the huge beat and then the raise [but also] the discussion even into next year,” he said, which indicated demand strength that is expected to continue being strong.
“Clearly, I think the people are having a hard time accepting it, but look, this AI thing is real," he added. "The demand is real. It's continuing. And there's a lot of opportunity moving forward.”
Alibaba (9988.HK, BABA)
The slowdown in China's economy, which has seen consumers cut down on spending, has been a headwind for retailers heavily exposed to the country.
Data showed that China's retail sales rose by 3% in November, which was the slowest pace in three months. However, officials have signalled bigger fiscal spending to come in 2025, in an effort to boost consumption.
The slump in spending has put pressure on the likes of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which missed against analyst expectations for sales in the second quarter. Alibaba posted revenue of 236.50 billion yuan ($25.89bn) for second quarter to the end of September, versus analysts' average forecast of 240.17 billion yuan, according to a Reuters report.
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However, Alibaba's adjusted profit of 15.06 yuan per American depository share, came in ahead of estimates of 14.88 yuan.
Jefferies (JEF) had a "buy" rating on the stock, as of a note on 17 November, following the release of the company's latest results.
The investment bank's equity analysts Thomas Chong and Zoey Zong said: "Alibaba has multiple growth drivers in the years ahead, in our view, with its core marketplace a strong cash cow that enjoys secular growth momentum amid consumption upgrade in China, thanks to solid execution and technological strength in digitalizing the retail sector with enhanced efficiencies."
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS)
Shares in South Korea's largest listed company Samsung have sold off heavily since August, with shares down nearly 33% year-to-date, with concerns about the company losing its market share in the chip industry.
In fact, Samsung issued a public apology in October for not meeting performance expectations.
"We have caused concerns about our technical competitiveness, with some talking about the crisis facing Samsung," said Young Hyun Jun, vice chairman of Samsung's device solutions division. "As leaders of the business, we take full responsibility for this."
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This came after it issued profit guidance for the third quarter that would have represented a fall on the previous quarter and been below market expectations.
However, this actual operating profit figure that Samsung then reported at the end of October, of 9.18 trillion South Korean won (£5bn), came in slightly better than the guidance of 9.1 trillion South Korean won.
Shares then rose in November after Samsung announced a share buyback worth 10 trillion South Korean won to boost shareholder value.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)
Production woes have weighed on Toyota shares this year, with the world's biggest automaker having reported a drop in output for the ninth month in a row in October.
Figures from the Japanese carmaker released at the end of November showed that the Toyota part of the business, which included luxury brand Lexus but excluded Daihatsu and Hino, had produced 893,164 vehicles in October. This was down 0.8% year-on-year but was an improvement on the 8% fall recorded in September.
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However, sales from this part of the business rose for the first time in five months, up 1.4% year-on-year to 903,103 in October.
In its second quarter results, Toyota reported a 20% decline in operating income to 1.16 trillion yen (£5.87bn), marking its first quarterly profit fall in two years.
Toyota said it expected production to be normalised in the second half of the year.
Declines its share price in the second half of the year mean the stock has risen just 7% year-to-date.
Aramco (2222.SR)
Oil prices have been under pressure this year, over concerns about reduced demand. Prices have also fluctuated because of the conflict in the Middle East and weaker economic data out of China, as the world's largest importer of crude oil.
The global oil market is set to be in surplus in 2025, according to a recent forecast from the International Energy Agency. That's despite OPEC+ – which controls about half of the world’s oil output – deciding to extend supply cuts.
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Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, said that this surplus could see prices trending lower next year. He said that ING expected ICE Brent, a benchmark for crude oil, to average $71 per barrel over 2025.
The decline in prices has impacted the profits of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco, with shares down 12% year-to-date. In the third quarter, Aramco reported that profits had fallen to $27.6bn from $32.6bn for the same period last year.
The oil giant said that the fall in profits was "mainly due to the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining margins."
However, Aramco still declared a base dividend of $20.3bn and a performance-linked payout of $10.8bn for the third quarter.
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