8 UK Stocks Gained Over 10% Last Month

July was the best month for the FTSE 100 this year, with eight UK stocks gaining more than 10% over the last month. They come from a wide range of sectors, suggesting that the uplift in British equities is broad-based and might have staying power.

Top FTSE 100 Gainers Last Month● British American Tobacco (BATS), +18.1%
● Airtel Africa (AAF), +14.5%
● St James Place (STJ), +15.8% 
● Standard Chartered (STAN), +13.4% 
● Rolls-Royce (RR), +13.2%
● Diploma (DPLM), +11.3%
● ICG (ICG), +10.8% 
● Reckitt Benckiser (RKT), +10.1%

Rolls-Royce:The aerospace and defence firm continues to soar after reporting strong first-half results on the last day of July. The company reported EPS almost doubling and a strong improvement in its operating margin, a sign that it continues to benefit from the turnaround as well as from renewed interest in European defence spending and energy development. In an added bonus for investors, the company also raised its guidance for the full year, with profits expected to grow to £3.1-3.2 billion. RR is also benefitting indirectly from the surge in AI, as data centres grow electricity demand, helping its Power Systems unit to gain by 20%.

british American Tobacco:BATS also reported earnings on the last day of the month, but its June trading update let investors know ahead of time that things were improving for the company. Its first-half operating profit of £5.4 billion was ahead of the analyst consensus of £5.3 billion, thanks to a 1.8% increase in revenue. A substantial contribution came from its smokeless product line, which continues to gain market share, adding 1.4 million new customers. This compares to the tobacco market as a whole, where the company expects sales volumes to be down ~2% this year. BATS offered an upbeat outlook, saying that it expected sales to rise at the top end of its previously guided range of an increase of 1-2% this year. 

Reckitt benckiser:The home products company reported its half-year results on the 24th of July, offering lacklustre earnings but a positive outlook. Q2 sales grew at 1.9% on a like-for-like basis to reach the £7.0 billion market mark that analysts had forecast. But the company's new £1.0 billion share buyback programme, coupled with raising its LFL sales growth guidance to over 4% from the 3-4% before, seems to have done the trick to convince investors to buy into the company. The company's share price jumped over 10% in the aftermath of its earnings, accounting for practically all of its monthly gains. Analysts are universally optimistic about the company, expecting another potential 7% upside for the stock, with an average price target of £55.72.