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Never mind worries about the state of the UK economy, rising geopolitical tensions, or the impact of tariffs on global trade. The FTSE 100 share index rose 7.2% in the first six months of 2025, as investors searched for quality blue chips at knock-down prices.
This was the best performance for four years.
Some investors might be tempted to believe the Footsie‘s now short of bargains following recent strength. They’d be wrong, though, as years of underperformance means many great growth and income shares still trade at rock-bottom prices.
Here are two to consider this July.
Standard Chartered — P/B and PEG of 0.8
Standard Chartered‘s (LSE:STAN) focus on fast-growing Asia and Africa gives it considerable growth potential. It has also performed reliably well despite troubles in its key Chinese market. Group pre-tax profits were up another 12% in Q1.
Yet the bank’s shares remain cheap as chips. At £11.77 per share, StanChart’s share price commands a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.8. Any multiple below one underlines a discount to a share’s underlying assets.
In addition, the blue-chip bank looks dirt cheap relative to expected earnings. Its bottom-line is tipped to swell 11% in 2025, leaving it trading on a sub-one price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.8.
Risks remain as interest rates fall, pulling down margins. But I believe the long-term rewards could outweigh this, driven by breakneck population and wealth growth in Standard Chartered’s far-flung markets.
And the business has deep pockets it can use to capitalise on this opportunity. Its CET1 capital ratio was 13.8% as of March, at the top end of its 13%-14% target range.
Vodafone — top all-rounder
When it comes to all-round value, I feel Vodafone (LSE:VOD) could be the FTSE’s champion right now.
A prospective price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11 times is well below the 10-year average of 18-19 times. It also packs a punch on the dividend front — its yield for this year is 5.5%.
Finally, at 79.2p, the telecoms firm looks cheap relative to its book value. The P/B is currently 0.5.
Some may argue this reflects challenges like its huge operational costs and ongoing pressures in Germany. The latter issue has been caused by changes to service bundling rules: regulatory issues like this are a constant threat to telecoms companies.
However, Vodafone also has considerable long-term potential that I don’t think is reflected at current prices. It has significant growth potential as the digital economy explodes, and is rapidly rolling out broadband fibre and expanding its 5G capabilities to capitalise on this. The tie-up with Three in the UK also carries considerable earnings possibilities.
And like Standard Chartered, the business has significant exposure to Africa, where demand for its data and mobile money services is booming. Hargreaves Lansdown analysts have commented that “Africa could become increasingly important as the region develops, and Vodafone’s leading position in several markets means it’s well-positioned to benefit“.
