Top of the stocks: most bought and sold stocks in October

Everything was ticking along in an orderly manner until October went a bit rogue. Tess and Claudia waltzed off Strictly, Justin Trudeau confirmed his Roar-mance with Katy Perry and Tom Daley made an uncharacteristically early dive out of The Traitors. And on that note, who could have foreseen the transformation of Alan Carr from perspiring liability to the nation’s most endearing assassin? By Jo Groves

Markets, meanwhile, have been doing their best to restore some semblance of respectability. Both the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 hit fresh record highs in October, though the UK index had the better of it with a 3% gain, edging ever closer to the magic 10,000 points. Gold, however, went into reverse, soaring towards $4,400 before slipping back to $4,000.

Rumblings of valuation fatigue seem to be getting louder as memories of the dot-com bubble linger, with the Bank of England even weighing in on “stretched” valuations. All eyes are on the current earnings season as ‘priced-for-perfection’ valuations of the Magnificent Seven face yet another day of reckoning.

So, which stocks proved faithful to UK investors in October and which traitors were cast asunder?

Top 10 most bought and sold shares in October

These were the most (and least) popular shares with UK retail investors on four of the largest investment platforms last month:

Source: AJ Bell, Bestinvest, IG and interactive investor

Chicken and chips please

It transpires that the Midas touch of NVIDIA’s CEO extends even to Korea’s answer to KFC, with Jensen Huang’s casual dinner with his counterparts at Samsung and Hyundai reportedly sending shares in Korean fried chicken companies soaring.

And talking of soaring, NVIDIA has smashed yet another record, becoming the first company in history to hit the $5 trillion mark, only three months after sailing through $4 trillion. Investors holding their nerve through the tariff turmoil and the DeepSeek challenge are now sitting on gains of 50% year-to-date.

The chipmaker is certainly still splashing the cash, adding another billion-dollar stake in Nokia and a partnership with data analytics firm Palantir to its stable. At this point, it’s becoming more a case of who NVIDIA hasn’t bought into.

The market is expecting the company to deliver another set of blockbuster quarterly results in a fortnight, with analysts already hiking forecasts on the back of stronger revenue visibility into next year. But it was Trump’s declaration that chips are featuring on the agenda for trade talks with China that sent the stock higher on hopes of restoring access to one of the largest global markets.

Despite this, UK investors were clearly on the fence as profit-takers squared off against those riding the golden goose a little longer.

Pick a lane

It was a similar story for Rolls-Royce and Tesla, with mirror-image buy and sell lists.

Rolls Royce (RR.) finally took a well-earned breather in October. Having already nearly doubled investors’ money this year on the back of its recovery story, a rather modest average share price forecast of 7% for the year ahead suggests that near-term optimism may already be baked in.

Investors will be looking for strong cash-flow generation in this week’s results, while keeping an eye on the longer-term upside if a potential spin-off of its small modular nuclear reactor arm comes to fruition.

Tesla (TSLA) also largely stayed in neutral in October. Third-quarter results were a mixed bag: revenue hit a record high, aided by the US tax credit expiry, and cash flow remained healthy. Margins, however, came under pressure as Tesla cut costs to protect revenue against stiff competition from the likes of BYD.

Meanwhile, the much-hyped launch of the affordable Model Y and 3 variants turned out to be something of a damp squib. Even a reinvigorated Elon, tossing in another AI teaser for good measure, couldn’t fully offset mounting scrutiny over the Full Self-Driving rollout either.

The share price wobbled its way toward month-end, with some UK investors buckling up for the ride while others hit the eject button at a déjà vu-inducing 250x earnings.

Best of the rest

Otherwise, the big dividend payers were once again flavor of the month as interest rates drift downwards. Asset manager M&G (MNG) and budget retailer B&M are trading on an eye-catching 8% dividend yield, with insurance giant Aviva (AV) not too far behind.

October was a turbulent month for B&M (BME), with its share price hitting a new low after a disappointing update including an accounting error. CEO Tjeerd Jegen unveiled a turnaround plan with price cuts on key products, a less chaotic in-store experience and more freedom for store managers. Its bargain-basement valuation clearly prompted UK investors to load up their baskets, though they could be in for a long wait to check out.

BP (BP.) may have been one of the most sold stocks for much of 2025, but reappeared on the other side of the trade last month. After a dip in October amid muted oil and gas prices, the share price has started November in better spirits, buoyed by above forecast quarterly earnings. Income-seekers will welcome the further increase in dividends and buybacks, with the company now on track to return over 10% of its market capitalisation to shareholders in 2025.

Source: AJ Bell, Bestinvest and interactive investor

Once again,Scottish Mortgage (SMT) topped buy lists, buoyed by its broad technology exposure and access to private unicorns such as SpaceX, ByteDance and Stripe.

While the AI hype continues to offer both potential upside and downside, SMT is less exposed than many of its large peers: Stifel places it mid pack, with 13% of its portfolio in the Magnificent Seven, well behind the 30% held by JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI). Echoing the tech theme,Polar Capital Technology (PCT) moved up to second place, with around a third of its portfolio also invested in the Magnificent Seven.

It was nice to see two new faces in October, with Law Debenture and Fidelity European making their debut.

Law Debenture (LWDB) offers a distinctive equity income strategy, combining a UK-focused equity portfolio with a professional services business, giving the managers flexibility beyond traditional income stocks. The trust ranks second in the AIC UK Equity Income table, with a five-year share price return of 140% – no mean feat in one of the largest AIC sectors.

And it’s a similar story for Fidelity European (FEV), which has emerged as one of the top performers in its sector with a near 90% five-year share price return. Fresh from its recent merger with Henderson European Trust (HET), it’s now the largest trust in the sector. Holdings span healthcare giants Roche and Novo Nordisk, as well as tech leaders ASML and SAP, offering an alternative to some of the lofty valuations on the other side of the pond.

The month ahead

There’s plenty for investors to absorb over the coming weeks. Saving the best for last, NVIDIA is set to report its third-quarter earnings on 19 November, with analysts expecting a “beat-and-raise” quarter and keen to see updates on OpenAI deployment and prospects for resuming business in China.

After a deluge of hair-raising headlines, the UK Budget will finally be unveiled on 26 November. Tax rises are on the horizon and bond markets remain on high alert, but could there be a glimmer of hope for UK equities if speculation around a new British ISA comes to pass?

On that note, we’ve produced guides to our pick of the best ISA platforms and best SIPP providers for investors looking to shield their investments from tax.

All data as at 04/11/2025 unless stated otherwise, returns based on share price total returns.