Most Active UK Stocks Today: Lloyds, BP, Magnum Ice Cream and Vodafone Lead FTSE 100 on 11 December 2025

The UK stock market spent Thursday treading water, but trading screens were anything but quiet.
By the close, the FTSE 100 was hovering around 9,666, up roughly 0.1%, as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut, a softer pound and a busy slate of company-specific news. ^[1]

Behind that modest index move sat heavy turnover in financials, energy and consumer names. Fresh share buybacks, a major Gulf of Mexico oil project, a high‑profile emerger at Unilever and a flurry of broker rating changes all helped propel certain stocks into the “most active” list.

This round‑up looks at the most traded UK shares today, focusing on what moved them on 11 December 2025 – and what analysts are saying about their prospects.

Where the volume was: FTSE 100’s busiest shares

Data from Hargreaves Lansdown’s “FTSE 100: Top 20 by volume” table shows today’s heaviest‑traded blue‑chips were: ^[2]

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)
Vodafone Group (VOD)
Glencore (GLEN)
Barclays (BARC)
International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS)
JD Sports Fashion (JD.)
BP (BP.)
Legal & General (LGEN)
J Sainsbury (SBRY)

Further down the top‑20 were NatWest (NWG) , Centrica (CNA) , The Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC) , Prudential (PRU) , HSBC (HSBA) , Tesco (TSCO) , Rolls‑Royce (RR.) , National Grid (NG.) , Auto Trader (AUTO) and Haleon (HLN). ^[3]

By value traded, London South East’s “Most Traded” board was dominated by Unilever , Rolls‑Royce , BP , Lloyds and British American Tobacco (BATS) – all classic institutional favourites. ^[4]

Below is what sat behind that activity.

Banks dominate the tape: Lloyds, Barclays and peers

Lloyds Banking Group: high volume meets mixed analyst sentiment

Lloyds again topped the FTSE 100 volume leaderboard, with nearly 13 million shares changing hands and the stock slipping just under 1% to around 94p. ^[5]

Two forces are colliding here:

After a huge 2025 rally – Lloyds has been flagged as one of the standout FTSE 100 performers this year, with the share price near decade‑high levels. TechStock²
A fresh downgrade: today’s London Broker Ratings column from Alliance News reported that Exane BNP cut Lloyds from “outperform” to “neutral” , signaling a more cautious stance after the strong run. ^[6]

The same piece highlights that Sainsbury and several other consumer names are now on analysts’ buy lists, hinting at a subtle rotation away from UK banks after a year of outsized gains. ^[7]

Lloyds also recently completed its 2025 £1.7bn buyback , having repurchased 2.2 billion shares by 9 December, which has been a key driver of that earlier strength. ^[8] With the buyback now done and a downgrade on the table, today’s heavy selling and profit taking look logical.

Forward‑looking view:
Recent analysis still describes Lloyds as well capitalized, benefiting from higher net interest margins, but warns that further upside into 2026 may be harder won after such a big move. TechStock²+ 1 Expect the stock to remain highly traded whenever UK rate expectations or housing‑market headlines shift.

Barclays: buyback machine keeps turning

Barclays was another banking heavyweight drawing big flows. The shares were among the most active and ended modestly higher around 445p. ^[9]

The catalyst was a fresh RNS “Transaction in Own Shares” :

Barclays repurchased 2,723,521 shares on 10 December.
The VWAP (volume‑weighted average price) was 440.6060p , with prices ranging from 436.05p to 442.55p.
Since the buyback launched on October 23, the bank has retired just over 25.27 million shares at an average of 435.18p. ^[10]

Investors typically view buybacks at discounted valuations as supportive for earnings per share, which helps explain why Barclays continues to feature on the “most traded” lists even on relatively calm index days.

Other financials in play: IAG, NatWest, HSBC, Legal & General

IAG (International Consolidated Airlines Group) – the airline group sat in fifth place by volume as the shares climbed around 1.3% to 390.6p, supported by a generally firm European airline backdrop and ongoing optimism about 2026 travel demand. ^[11]
Legal & General, NatWest and HSBC all appeared in the volume top‑20, reflecting continued institutional repositioning in income‑rich financials as the UK yield curve adjusts to the Fed’s rate cut and evolving Bank of England expectations. ^[12]

While none of these names put out major RNS announcements today, they remain liquid vehicles for trading broader themes in UK financials.

Telecoms: Vodafone’s buyback turbocharges activity

Vodafone was the second‑most traded stock on the FTSE 100 by volume, with more than 5.3 million shares changing hands and the price edging up to about 94.9p. ^[13]

An RNS filed this morning detailed the latest leg of the group’s substantial buyback program:

On 10 December, Merrill Lynch International bought 12,343,973 Vodafone shares on the London Stock Exchange.
The VWAP for those trades was 94.36p , with purchases spread across the morning session. ^[14]

Those shares are being transferred to Vodafone and held in treasury, continuously shrinking the free float. After this tranche, Vodafone holds roughly 2.0 billion shares in treasury out of total issued stock of just over 25.6 billion shares. ^[15]

Last week, Bank of America also nudged its Vodafone price target up to 98p while maintaining a “neutral” rating, underscoring that much of the turnaround story – cost cutting, asset disposals and tower monetization – is already in the price. ^[16]

Takeaway for traders:
With a liquid share register, ongoing buybacks and a chunky dividend, Vodafone has become a staple short‑term trading vehicle whenever telecoms sentiment shifts – and today’s volume reflects that.

Energy & commodities: BP, Centrica and Glencore in focus

BP: seventh major project of 2025 hits first oil

BP made the FTSE 100’s top‑10 by volume and ended slightly higher around 444p, helped by a major project milestone . ^[17]

An Alliance News report this morning confirmed that BP has brought on stream its seventh big project of 2025 , delivering first oil from the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion in the Gulf of Mexico: ^[18]

The expansion adds two new wells tied into an existing subsea hub.
It is expected to contribute around 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gross peak annualized production to the Atlantis platform.
Atlantis itself can produce up to 200,000 barrels a day , making it one of BP’s longest‑running and most significant Gulf assets. ^[19]

Management described the project as capping an “excellent year” of seven upstream start‑ups and reiterated ambitions to lift overall US output to about 1 million boe/d by 2030. ^[20]

For investors, the message is clear: BP is still spending heavily on traditional hydrocarbons even as it talks up its transition strategy – a theme that continues to divide opinion but certainly keeps liquidity flowing.

Glencore: high volume, quieter news

Glencore ranked third by FTSE 100 volume, trading over 3.3 million shares and edging above 384p. ^[21]

There was no major RNS today , but the stock remains in focus after the commodities group cut its stake in Century Aluminum to 33% last month following a tariff-fueled rally, a move that crystallized profits and tightened Glencore’s grip on capital allocation. ^[22]

Trading desks suggest today’s activity is largely position‑adjustment as investors balance exposure to miners and energy names in light of the Fed’s dovish shift and firmer gold and copper prices. ^[23]

Centrica and National Grid: defensive energy flows

Both Centrica (CNA) and National Grid (NG.) appeared in the volume leaderboard, reflecting continued appetite for defensive, cash‑generative utilities as bond yields ease from their recent peaks. ^[24]

While neither name released price‑moving news today, they remain popular vehicles for investors seeking inflation‑linked dividends and relative stability within an otherwise cyclical index.

Consumer and retail: Sainsbury, Tesco, M&S and the Magnum spin-off

Sainsbury: upgraded to “buy” and heavily traded

Supermarket group J Sainsbury was one of today’s most active stocks, with volumes exceeding 1.28 million shares and the price up about 1.3% around 321p. ^[25]

A key driver was the Citigroup upgrade in this morning’s London broker round‑up:

Citi raised Sainsbury from “neutral” to “buy” .
The broker set a price target of 349p , implying meaningful upside from current levels. ^[26]

On the consumer side, Sainsbury was also in the news after a widely shared article highlighted a Nectar loyalty scheme rule that prevented one customer from using a large pile of points on a big Christmas shop – a story that reinforced how competitive and sensitive UK grocery loyalty programs have become. ^[27]

Taken together, the broker support and seasonal headlines helped propel the stock into the day’s most-traded list.

Tesco and Marks & Spencer: mixed but active

Two other retail heavyweights – Tesco and Marks & Spencer – also drew strong interest:

Tesco (TSCO) was in the FTSE 100 volume top-20, with Citi lifting its price target to 510p while reiterating a “buy” rating, pointing to resilient earnings momentum. ^[28]
Marks & Spencer (MKS) ranked sixth by volume, trading over 2 million shares around 321p. Goldman Sachs trimmed its target from 470p to 450p but kept a “buy” stance, reflecting a view that the turnaround is largely on track even after a strong post-pandemic rally. ^[29]

With both grocers in analysts’ crosshairs and UK consumer confidence still fragile, these stocks are likely to remain key battlegrounds for growth versus value investors into 2026.

Unilever and The Magnum Ice Cream Company: demerger and index changes

Although Unilever does not appear in today’s top‑volume 20, it is near the top of London South East’s “most traded by value” list, and its freshly spun‑off Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC) has quickly become one of the most actively traded new names in the index. ^[30]

The backdrop:

Unilever completed the demerger of The Magnum Ice Cream Company earlier this month. FTSE Russell confirmed that Magnum will be added to several global indices from 8 December, with its industry classification updated from “Personal Products” to “Food Products” effective 11 December 2025 . ^[31]
Following the spin‑off, Unilever executed a share consolidation of 8 new shares for every 9 existing shares , effective 9 December, with new shares trading in London and Amsterdam from that date. ^[32]

Today’s volumes reflect investors rebalancing portfolios in response to these index and capital-structure changes.

Analysts are broadly supportive: Deutsche Bank raised its Unilever price target to 5,150p and reiterated a “buy” rating in today’s broker round‑up, citing the streamlined focus and potential for margin improvement. ^[33]

Meanwhile, Magnum itself made the FTSE 100 top‑20 by volume, rising more than 5% to about 1,181p as funds built positions in the stand‑alone ice‑cream champion. ^[34]

Industrials & healthcare: Rolls‑Royce and AstraZeneca

Rolls‑Royce: power play data center

Rolls‑Royce Holdings appeared both in the value and volume leaderboards, with nearly a million shares traded. ^[35]

The company announced that it has delivered its first emergency power generator sets for data centers carrying full Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), underscoring its push into lower‑carbon, critical‑infrastructure power solutions. ^[36]

With the shares already among 2025’s star performers, investors are watching closely to see whether such diversification – alongside its core aero‑engine business – can sustain earnings growth into the next cycle.

AstraZeneca: strategic biotech investment

While not one of today’s absolute top‑volume names, AstraZeneca remained actively traded after news broke that the pharma giant and its joint fund with CICC Capital led a nearly $100m financing round in biotech firm Syneron Bio , targeting advanced therapies in China. ^[37]

The deal reinforces AstraZeneca’s strategy of pairing its internal R&D engine with external innovation from smaller biotechs , a theme that many analysts see as crucial to its long‑term growth pipeline.

“Sin stock” in motion: British American Tobacco

Shares in British American Tobacco (BATS) were also among London’s most traded by value. ^[38]

Today’s liquidity was fueled by another share buyback announcement :

BAT that disclosed it repurchased 140,000 shares on 10 December at a VWAP of 4,343.89p and intends to cancel them. ^[39]

This follows last week’s news that the company plans to offload around 7% of its stake in ITC Hotels via a block trade , part of a broader portfolio‑tidying exercise following ITC Hotels’ to emerge from India’s ITC Ltd. ^[40]

For income investors, BAT’s persistent buybacks and high dividend continue to be the main draw, even as regulatory and ESG concerns keep the name controversial.

What today’s most active UK stocks tell us

A few clear themes emerged from today’s trading:

Buybacks are driving liquidity. Vodafone, Barclays, BAT and Lloyds all either executed or recently completed sizeable share repurchase programs, making them natural homes for big institutional orders. ^[41]
Corporate actions matter. The Unilever–Magnum demerger and share consolidation, plus BP’s Gulf of Mexico project start‑up and Rolls‑Royce’s data‑center generators, all provided concrete news hooks that dragged those names into “most active” territory. ^[42]
Analyst calls can still move prices. Today’s London broker round‑up reshuffled views on Lloyds, Sainsbury, Tesco, Unilever, M&S and others – and those stocks promptly showed up with elevated volumes. ^[43]
Macro remains the backdrop. The Fed’s rate cut, a slightly softer pound and shifting expectations for Bank of England policy continues to influence flows into banks, utilities and income-rich blue-chips, even on days when the headline FTSE 100 move looks modest. ^[44]

Key risks and what to watch next

For investors tracking these highly active stocks, the main things to watch over the coming weeks include:

Bank of England signals on the pace of future rate cuts and the impact on banks’ net interest margins.
Energy prices and geopolitics , which will influence sentiment toward BP, Centrica and Glencore.
Consumer‑spending data into the crucial Christmas period, shaping the outlook for Sainsbury, Tesco and M&S.
Post‑emerger trading patterns in Unilever and Magnum as passive index funds finish rebalancing and fundamental investors reassess valuations.

As always, heavy trading volumes do not automatically mean a stock is a buy or a sell – they simply tell you where the market’s attention is right now .