10 Biggest Companies in the FTSE 100 List in Terms of Market Capitalization
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 index, also known as the FTSE 100 or
more intimately termed the “Footsie," is a stock index that is
comprised of the top 100 companies in the London Stock Exchange. The total
capitalization of these companies is about 80% of all listed companies.
Below, we'll take a look at a few of the most important and largest
constituents of the FTSE 100 list of companies in terms of market
capitalization. The FTSE index shows how successful top companies in the
United Kingdom are. Although, part of the FTSE 100 comprises other global
companies, which is why it is wrong to use the FTSE 100 as an indicator to
ascertain the current state of the United Kingdom economy.
What is Market Capitalization?
First of all, let’s look at what market capitalization (or market cap)
is all about. Market cap is the overall value of a company’s
outstanding shares. Market cap is calculated by taking the outstanding
shares of the company and multiplying it by the current price of its share.
Additionally, a company’s market cap is what determines whether it
will be included in the FTSE 100 list or not.
For instance, if a company has 2 million shares and is selling each for $20,
it means each of the shares will have a market capitalization of $20
million. In other words, you can purchase such a company for $20 million if
you have such money, and the stockholders are willing to sell their
shares.
About the FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 index is made up of the top 100 LSE companies in terms of
market cap as calculated on December 31 of the year. Operating since January
3, 1984, the index is run by a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange
Group, termed the FTSE Group. During its inception, it began with a value of
1000 and has experienced changes beyond recognition, such as disappearing
companies, takeovers, and mergers.
However, in 2000 the FTSE 100 index increased to 7103.98 in terms of value. Notwithstanding, due to the financial crisis in 2007 – 2010, the index value got to its lowest level of 3500. Then in March 2017, it got to its highest value in intraday trading with a record of 7777.62 points.
However, in 2000 the FTSE 100 index increased to 7103.98 in terms of value. Notwithstanding, due to the financial crisis in 2007 – 2010, the index value got to its lowest level of 3500. Then in March 2017, it got to its highest value in intraday trading with a record of 7777.62 points.
Price changes are calculated in real-time and, when the market is open, they
are published every second. While many index funds give a glimpse into the
health of a particular economy, this is not true of the FTSE 100. That is
because the FTSE is made up of many globally focused companies and
additionally because it is significantly affected by exchange rates.
The FSTE index price is affected by various things such as economic shifts,
politics, news, etc. that take place in Europe. However, announcements from
the United Kingdom that affects FTSE include UK inflation rates,
manufacturing numbers, GDP statistics, and Interest rate announcements.
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1) Royal Dutch Shell
The current number of constituents in the FTSE 100 list is actually 101.
This is because Royal Dutch Shell’s (Shell) A and B class shares are
both listed. Shell is a multinational oil and gas company that deals with
all the aspects of the industry, including exploration, refining, and
distribution. Shell’s A and B listings have a market cap of
£210.82 billion and £210.64 billion, respectively.
2) HSBC Holdings
Being the second-largest constituent in the FTSE 100 list of companies with
a market cap of £132.80 billion, HSBC Holdings is the seventh-largest
bank in the world and the largest in Europe. The company originated in Hong
Kong and is listed not only in the London Stock exchange but in the Hong
Kong Stock exchange as well. Today the banking enterprise considers both
Hong Kong and the UK as its home markets.
3) BP
Another multinational oil and gas company, BP, based in London, is one of
the four biggest oil and gas companies worldwide in terms of revenue with a
market cap of £108.50 billion. This puts it in third place in the FTSE
100. Formerly known as The British Petroleum Company PLC, the company was
founded in 1889, and as of December 2018, BP operates in over 70 countries
around the world and has an interest in over a dozen onshore wind sites.
4) GlaxoSmithKline
With a £74.63 market cap, it ranks in sixth place in the FTSE 100.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a pharmaceutical company established in the year
2000 when GlaxoWellcome merged with SmithKline Beecham. Today this
pharmaceutical giant is the sixth-largest pharmaceutical company in the
world. Headquartered in London, the company is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange as well.
5) British American Tobacco
Tenth in the top constituents in the FTSE 100 list of companies is the
multinational tobacco company British American Tobacco with a market
capitalization of £61.62 billion. British American Tobacco operates in
180 countries all over the world with its most recognizable brands,
including Lucky Strike, Dunhill, and Pall Mall.
6) Unilever
This company has a long-standing history of establishing popular products
required for our everyday life. It is a multinational consumer goods
company, which is dual-listed in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Its
history dates back to the 1870s with its global reach and company scale
attractive to investors. The company over time has regrouped to form over
400 brands, including Surf, Sunsilk, Magnum, Lipton, Knorr, Heartbrand ice
creams, Omo, Dove, Rexona/Degree, Lux, Hellmann's, and Axe/Lynx.
In the London Stock Market, it is represented with the symbol ULVR and with
a market capitalization of over £108,075m. During its fourth-quarter
result, which was released in January 2023, it shows that the company
experienced a sales growth of 1.5%, whereas the overall sales growth for the
year was 2.9%. Also, the profit took a surge of 1.6%. In all of its three
divisions, the Homecare division saw the highest growth, of 6.1% in 2019.
However, the other two food and refreshment only managed 1.5% growth in the
previous year.
7) AstraZeneca
The company is among the top 10 in the FSTC 100 list of companies on the
London Stock Exchange. It is one of the best Anglo-Swedish multinational
companies you will find on the London Stock Exchange. The company majors in
pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products. They don't only develop but
also manufactures and sell these pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products
on a global scale. These products are used to treat major diseases affecting
humans, such as inflammation, neuroscience, infection, respiratory,
gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and cancer-related problems.
With a market capitalization of over £100.8 Billion, AstraZeneca is a
reputable company to invest in the London Stock Exchange. In 2019, the total
revenues of the company increased by 10%, which gave yield to a 59% increase
in sales of new medicines.
8) Diageo
Diageo has been a force to reckon with since the merger of Guinness and
Grand Metropolitan brought the company into existence in 1997. However, most
of its bands date back to hundreds of years. As a multinational alcoholic
beverages company, it majors mainly in spirits like rum, vodka, and whiskey.
Recently, it has made efforts to solidify its products to emerging markets
throughout the world.
Interestingly, the company doesn’t only produce these products but
also deals in the distribution of beers with some famous brands such as
Smirnoff and Gordon’s, Johnnie Walker, and Guinness. Represented by
the stock symbol DGE, Diageo has a market cap of £ 73.9 Billion and
sits among the FTSE top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange.
9) Barclays
Barclays PLC is a renowned British investment and financial service company
with a history dating back to the 1960s. The company is one of the four big
banks in the United Kingdom, with the largest market shares of customers in
England. Primarily, Barclays is involved with investment banking but has
other additional services, including investment management, wealth
management, personal banking, and corporate banking.
Barclays PLC has a market cap of £30.7 Billion despite the negative
publicity that erupted some time ago. However, it remains a formidable bank
in the United Kingdom and a force to reckon with as time goes. Importantly,
active investors have a stake in the company, with its credit card and
retail businesses performing well in the banking industry.
10) BHP
BHP Group is a global company known for the production of various
commodities such as uranium, iron ore, copper, and metallurgical coal.
Represented in the stock market with BHP, it has a market cap of £
84.6 Billion and part of the British arm of the Anglo-Australian
multinational metal, mining, and petroleum corporation. Besides being listed
on the London Stock Exchange, it is also listed on the Australian Stock
Exchange.
The company is involved in the exploration, production, and processing of minerals. Besides, it also does hydrocarbon exploration, production, and refining. Represented in the stock market with BHP, it has a market cap of £ 84.6 Billion and part of the British arm of the Anglo-Australian multinational metal, mining, and petroleum corporation.
The company is involved in the exploration, production, and processing of minerals. Besides, it also does hydrocarbon exploration, production, and refining. Represented in the stock market with BHP, it has a market cap of £ 84.6 Billion and part of the British arm of the Anglo-Australian multinational metal, mining, and petroleum corporation.
Sign up now to start trading
If these ten top companies sound intriguing, you may want to explore trading
CFDs on the FTSE. The FTSE 100 list has 101 top companies, and by trading
the index, you get a small piece of each of the companies without needing to
own them all separately. Join now and start trading the FTSE or any of the
other intriguing index CFDs.
FTSE 100 Trading Strategies
One of the efficient ways to start trading the FTSE100 is to use technical analysis patterns. It helps to identify turning points in the market and therefore areas for buying and selling. A popular price action pattern is the engulfing candle pattern, which comes in two types: a bearish pattern and a bullish pattern. Candlestick combinations can give powerful BUY or SELL signals. There are patterns indicating trend prolongation or reversal. The taken signals must be correlated with other data. For example, with the same indicators.
The traders commonly use the following strategies to deal with FTSE 100 blue
chips:
- trading using technical (graphical) analysis;
- trading using reversal candlestick patterns: Hammer, Hanging Man, Inverted hammer, Shooting star, Doji, and Engulfing;
Trading hours are daily from 8:00 to 16:29 GMT (closing deals) and the
closing of trades itself takes place at 16:35. All daily data on the index
is published in the Financial Times from the day the index was calculated.
What moves the FTSE 100’s price?
The FTSE 100 rate is primarily influenced by factors related to the economy
of Britain and the EU:
The pound rate, interest rates of the Central Bank; reports on GDP,
production indices, inflation; as well as the political situation (Brexit),
changes in tax legislation, export volumes, etc.
Bad data usually negatively affect the FTSE and lead to its fall and vice
versa.
Much also depends on the specific composition of the FTSE index and its
constituents at the current moment, for example, the more oil companies
there are, the more the index is exposed to events affecting the hydrocarbon
market, etc.
Even many British companies still receive the largest share of profits
from exports to other countries, so their revenues are usually indicated
not in a local currency, but in USD.
What are the FTSE top 100 companies?
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3i |
Land Securities |
|
Halma |
DS Smith |
|
Antofagasta |
St. James's Place plc |
|
Kingfisher plc |
SSE plc |
|
Anglo American plc |
Sage Group |
|
Intertek |
Segro |
|
Aveva |
Whitbread |
|
Bunzl |
Prudential plc |
|
Glencore |
Smurfit Kappa |
|
DCC plc |
M&G |
|
Hikma Pharmaceuticals |
Royal Bank of Scotland Group |
|
Compass Group |
Ocado |
|
Just Eat |
Rio Tinto Group |
|
International Airlines Group |
Unilever |
|
JD Sports |
WPP plc |
|
Carnival Corporation &plc |
Rightmove |
|
Ashtead Group |
Standard Chartered |
|
BP |
Sainsbury's |
|
Croda International |
Severn Trent |
|
Experian |
Next plc |
|
British American Tobacco |
Rentokil Initial |
|
Coca-Cola HBC |
Melrose Industries |
|
Burberry |
Meggitt |
|
Berkeley Group Holdings |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust |
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BT Group |
Reckitt Benckiser |
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GlaxoSmithKline |
National Grid plc |
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Imperial Brands |
Rolls-Royce Holdings |
|
BAE Systems |
Vodafone Group |
|
HSBC |
London Stock Exchange Group |
|
ITV plc |
Phoenix Group |
|
Barclays |
TUI Group |
|
Auto Trader Group |
United Utilities |
|
CRH plc |
NMC Health |
|
Aviva |
Mondi |
|
Associated British Foods |
RSA Insurance Group |
|
Informa |
RELX |
|
Barratt Developments |
Persimmon plc |
|
Diageo |
Morrisons |
|
Ferguson plc |
Lloyds Banking Group |
|
EasyJet |
Legal & General |
|
BHP |
Royal Dutch Shell |
|
Evraz |
Polymetal International |
|
Johnson Matthey |
Smith & Nephew |
|
InterContinental Hotels Group |
Spirax-Sarco Engineering |
|
British Land |
Taylor Wimpey |
|
Flutter Entertainment |
Pearson plc |
|
Hargreaves Lansdown |
Smiths Group |
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Admiral Group |
Schroders |
|
AstraZeneca |
Standard Life Aberdeen |
|
Centrica |
Tesco |
FAQ
How do I invest in the FTSE 100 companies?
If you are an individual, there are two ways of investing in the FTSE
100 companies. The first method is by trading, while the second is by
investing in this company. When you invest in the FTSE stock of a
company, you are buying the shares of the company with the hope that its
value will increase in the future. Additionally, you can invest in FTSE
exchange-traded funds (ETF). Furthermore, the other option is to trade
the principal shares of FTSE 100 stocks or FTSE 100 ETFs. The
r1investing platform has everything you need to invest in your favorite
FTSE companies.
Are FTSE 100 prices in pence?
Yes, FTSE 100 prices are listed in pence instead of the pound, and a
hundred pence is equivalent to a pound. It is more sensible to use pence
in stock because the share prices are usually lower. This price can be
below a pound, which is why pence are used in stock.
Can you buy FTSE 100 shares?
The FTSE market comprises the top 100 largest companies in the London
Stock Exchange, including companies such as Barclays, HSBC, Sainsbury,
BP, and Unilever. Although you can invest directly in the FTSE, however,
you can also buy the shares of these companies through an
exchange-traded fund that records the performance of the stocks in the
market.
What is the difference between FTSE 100 and 250?
The FTSE 100 is a list of the biggest 100 companies on the London Stock
Exchange. Its total index value is placed at £1.3 trillion. The
FTSE 100 is something referred to as “footsie” or
“blue chip” companies. However, the FTSE 250 comprises the
next 250 largest companies traded by both individuals and investors in
the London Stock Exchange. Their collective worth is estimated to be
£390Billion
The information above is for education purposes only and cannot be
considered as investment advice. Past performance is not a reliable
indicator of future results.
