FTSE 100 stocks

What is the FTSE 100 index?

The FTSE 100 is a stock index composed of 100 of the largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). With the FTSE 100 covering around 80% of the total market capitalisation of the entire LSE, the index is seen as a benchmark and indicator of UK economic performance.

Learn more about trading the FTSE 100 

Top FTSE 100 stocks

Three main factors of stocks that traders look at are market capitalisation, share price and the amount paid out in dividends.

Share price is important as that shows how much you must pay to buy a stock, while market capitalisation is a greater indicator of how big a stock is – as a small company can have a high share price. Dividends, on the other hand, don’t relate to the size or price of a company. However, it’s still important to know the yield you’ll get back on your investment via dividends as this should factor into your trading strategy.

Here are the top FTSE 100 stocks based on those three main criteria.

Market capitalisation (£ billion) *

Market capitalisation is one major factor that traders look at to determine the performance and size of a stock. Market cap is calculated by multiplying the share price with the number of shares of a company. Here are the top five FTSE 100 stocks based on market cap.

#1 – AstraZeneca (133.40)

Despite being the driving force behind vaccination efforts for the pandemic, AstraZeneca saw some strong volatility in 2020 and 2021. Yet with the successful rollout of the COVID vaccine, the pharmaceutical company has become the largest stock on the FTSE 100 index based on market capitalisation. It’s also listed on the NYSE.

#2 – Unilever (102.79)

Unilever is a consumer goods giant with products in over 190 countries and is listed on both the FTSE 100 and the Euro Stoxx 50 index. Despite revenue and net income dropping from 2017 and 2018 highs respectively, it has grown substantially in recent years to reach a colossal market capitalisation.

#3 – Diageo (83.03)

Diageo has made its success by investing in beverages, and to date it owns over 200 brands in 180 countries. Strong financial figures over the last 24 months have put Diageo firmly on investors’ radar and more success might follow, as the firm’s strategy now focuses on expanding into the growing Asian markets.

#4 – HSBC (79.10)

HSBC is a titan of the banking industry, serving over 40 million customers globally. HSBC’s foundation dates back to 1865, where it first launched in Hong Kong. It survived tough patches during both world wars but since the mid-1950s HSBC has emerged as an international bank that operates across 65 countries. 

#5 – GlaxoSmithKline (74.27)

Founded in 2000 as a merger between GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline, GlaxoSmithKline’s rise has been meteoric. In 2020 it was in the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world based on revenue¹, and is not only listed on the LSE but also the NYSE.

*Market caps as of 6 September 2021

Dividend (yield percentage) *

Dividend yield is the return an investor receives in dividend payments as a percentage of the share price. For instance, if a stock has a price of 1000p and its dividend pays 50p, that company’s dividend yield would be 5% (as 50p is 5% of the 1000 stock price). Dividends are appealing to investors as they’re a form of return on an investment in a stock, regardless of whether its price actually rises or not. Here are the top five FTSE 100 stocks based on recent dividend yields.

#1 - Imperial Brands (8.79%)

Based on market share, Imperial Brands is the fourth-largest tobacco company in the world and is the largest producer of fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers. The company owns several major brands in the industry and sell goods in over 160 countries.

#2 - Evraz (8.33%)

Owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, famed for also owning Chelsea Football Club, Evraz is a steel manufacturing and mining company. It only started paying dividends in 2017 but has since become the second-highest dividend-paying stock on the FTSE 100.

#3 - M&G (8.00%)

M&G is an investment management company. Like Evraz, it only recently began paying dividends but now offers one of the highest yields on the FTSE 100. From the financial year ending in 2020, the company managed assets on behalf of its clients worth £352 billion.

#4 - Persimmon (7.78%)

With a relatively cheap share price and a high yield, Persimmon is a popular choice for many traders. The York-based company specialises in building houses and does so in over 380 locations around the world.

#5 - British American Tobacco (7.64%)

Listed on four stock exchanges, British American Tobacco is a multinational giant in the global tobacco industry. As of 2019, it was the largest tobacco firm in the world based on net sales and its brands include well-known names such as Pall Mall and Lucky Strike.

*Dividends correct as of July 2021

Stock price (GBX)*

Although it’s not an accurate measure of company size (as a small company can inflate its stock price by limiting the number of stocks available, increasing demand), stock price is still very relevant to traders.. Below are the five most expensive stocks listed on the FTSE 100. 

#1 – Spirax-Sarco Engineering (16,510.00)

Spirax-Sarco is an engineering manufacturer that attracts attention in the investing world as the most expensive stock on the FTSE 100. It has experienced exceptional growth over the last decade and some traders believe its prosperity could continue well into the long term.

#2 – Flutter Entertainment (14,675)

Flutter Entertainment is a major player in the UK online sports betting and gaming industry, owning several major brands like SkyBet and Betfair. However, it’s the US market that seems to be the most lucrative. Flutter Entertainment already owns FOX Bet and is looking to expand that brand to make further waves in the US market.

#3 – Ferguson (10,580)

Ferguson is a seller of heating and plumbing supplies with over one million global customers. Since the market-wide sell-off in March 2020 due to the pandemic, its price has rebounded strongly and has more than doubled in value.

#4 – Croda International (9,234)

Croda International is another stock that’s seen its share price more than double since the pandemic hit. The 2020 acquisition of Spanish company Iberchem will enable Croda International, a chemicals company, to further expand operations into China and the Middle East, but can it add to an already impressive share price?

#5 – AstraZeneca (8,204)

The role AstraZeneca played in rolling out the vaccine unsurprisingly had a positive effect on its share price, with it surpassing 10,000in July 2020. It’s since fallen back down due to several different factors, one being investors’ worries over a $39 billion acquisition of Alexion.

*Share prices correct as of 10 September 2021

How to trade FTSE 100 stocks

At FOREX.com, you can trade FTSE 100 stocks with us, and take advantage of price movement in either direction. To do this, follow these simple steps below:

1. Open a liveFOREX.com account and gain access to a range of markets
2. Explore the array of different equities we offer, including FTSE 100 stocks
3. Choose to go long or short
4. Select your position size by choosing an amount to trade
5. Manage the risk of your position by setting your stops and limits
6. Click ‘Place Trade’ to open your position  

Alternatively, you can practise trading FTSE 100 stocks in a risk-free environment with a demo account.

What factors move FTSE 100 stocks?

Several factors can move FTSE 100 stocks’ prices, but some are more influential than others. The value of the pound, the strength of the UK economy and earnings season are main price-moving examples.

How does the pound affect FTSE 100 stocks?

The British pound affects FTSE 100 stocks as GBP’s value against other currencies is very significant to the UK’s top companies. FTSE 100 companies for the most part operate on a global scale, whether it’s selling products internationally or sourcing supplies from abroad that are cheaper than buying them locally.

So, when the pound is strong against other currencies, buying imports from foreign countries is cheaper, but selling their goods internationally is more expensive. If their goods are more expensive to international buyers, then sales will likely decrease in these regions as some buyers will be deterred by the more expensive price and look elsewhere for cheaper alternatives.

Example of the pound impacting a FTSE 100 stock

Let’s use a UK coffee company as an example. If that company imports coffee beans from South America, they must convert pounds into the local South American currency to buy the beans. If the pound rises in value against the local South American currency, then the imports of beans become cheaper as £1 will now have greater purchasing power.

Similarly, if the UK company then wishes to sell its coffee in the eurozone when the pound is strong, its product becomes less appealing to buyers as the price of the coffee in euros will rise.

How does economic strength affect FTSE 100 stocks?

If the economy is strong, this will have a number of knock-on effects that benefit the FTSE 100 stocks. Firstly, consumer confidence will be higher in a booming economy because employment will typically be high, meaning less risk of unemployment and not being able to make money. People will feel less need to save money if they have high job security.

Furthermore, with more people in work disposable income increases, FTSE stocks will see a rise in demand for their products. This positively impacts revenues, and with confidence high, companies might choose to reinvest income into capital like new infrastructure, which further grows the company and adds efficiency.

How does earnings season affect the FTSE 100 stocks?

Depending on whether or not a company meets expectations, earnings season has the potential to strongly affect the prices of FTSE 100 stocks.

Earnings reports provide key information from the previous quarter or year, which allows investors to evaluate a company’s performance and predict its future prosperity. These reports also provide future guidance and aspirations for how the company itself believes it will perform going forward.

Learn how to read an earnings report

Overall, these reports contain a wealth of different quantitative and qualitative information that is used by investors to formulate their decisions, so we commonly see volatility during these earnings periods.

What are the FTSE 100 stocks? *

The FTSE 100 stocks are the 100 largest stocks listed on the LSE based on market capitalisation. The FTSE is reviewed each quarter, with any LSE stock falling out of the top 110 places by market capitalisation being replaced by any LSE stock that enters the top 90. Below are the current FTSE 100 stocks at the time of writing, their ticker symbols and the industry they operate in.

Stock	Ticker Symbol	Industry
3i	III	Financial
Abrdn	ABDN	Financial
Admiral Group	ADM	Insurance
Anglo American plc	AAL	Mining
Antofagasta	ANTO	Mining
Ashtead Group	AHT	Support Services
Associated British Foods	ABF	Food/Beverage
AstraZeneca	AZN	Healthcare
Auto Trader Group	AUTO	Media
Avast	AVST	Software/Computing
Aveva	AVV	Software/Computing
Aviva	AV.	Insurance
B&M	BME	Retail
BAE Systems	BA.	Aerospace and Defence
Barclays	BARC	Financial
Barratt Developments	BDEV	Household
Berkeley Group Holdings	BKG	Household
BHP	BHP	Mining
BP	BP.	Oil/Gas
British American Tobacco	BATS	Tobacco
British Land	BLND	Investment
BT Group	BT.A	Telecoms
Bunzl	BNZL	Support Services
Burberry	BRBY	Retail
Coca-Cola HBC	CCH	Food/Beverage
Compass Group	CPG	Support Services
CRH plc	CRH	Construction
Croda International	CRDA	Chemicals
DCC plc	DCC	Support Services
Diageo	DGE	Food/Beverage
Entain	ENT	Travel/Leisure
Evraz	EVR	Mining
Experian	EXPN	Support Services
Ferguson plc	FERG	Support Services
Flutter Entertainment	FLTR	Travel/Leisure
Frensillo	FRES	Mining
GlaxoSmithKline	GSK	Healthcare
Glencore	GLEN	Mining
Halma	HLMA	Electronics
Hargreaves Lansdown	HL.	Financial
Hikma Pharmaceuticals	HIK	Healthcare
HSBC	HSBA	Financial
IHG Hotels & Resorts	IHG	Travel/Leisure
Imperial Brands	IMB	Tobacco
Informa	INF	Media
Intermediate Capital Group	ICP	Investment
International Airlines Group	IAG	Travel/Leisure
Intertek	ITRK	Support Services
ITV plc	ITV	Media
JD Sports	JD.	Retail
Johnson Matthey	JMAT	Chemicals
Just Eat Takeaway	JET	Software/Computing
Kingfisher	KGF	Retail
Land Securities	LAND	Investment
Legal & General	LGEN	Insurance
Lloyds Banking Group	LLOY	Financial
London Stock Exchange Group	LSEG	Financial
M&G	MNG	Investment
Melrose Industries	MRO	Automobiles
Mondi	MNDI	Paper
National Grid plc	NG.	Utilities
NatWest Group	NWG	Financial
Next plc	NXT	Retail
Ocado Group	OCDO	Food/Beverage
Pearson plc	PSON	Media
Pershing Square Holdings	PSH	Financial
Persimmon plc	PSN	Household
Phoenix Group	PHNX	Insurance
Polymetal International	POLY	Mining
Prudential plc	PRU	Insurance
Reckitt	RKT	Household
RELX	REL	Media
Rentokil Initial	RTO	Support Services
Rightmove	RMV	Media
Rio Tinto	RIO	Mining
Rolls-Royce Holdings	RR.	Aerospace and Defence
Royal Dutch Shell	RDSA	Oil/Gas
Royal Mail	RMG	Industrial Transportation
Sage Group	SGE	Software/Computing
Sainsbury’s	SBRY	Food/Beverage
Schroders	SDR	Financial
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust	SMT	Financial
Segro	SGRO	Investment
Severn Trent	SVT	Utilities
DS Smith	SMDS	General Industrials
Smiths Group	SMIN	General Industrials
Smith & Nephew	SN.	Healthcare
Smurfit Kappa	SKG	General Industrials
Spirax-Sarco Engineering	SPX	Engineering
SSE plc	SSE	Utilities
Standard Chartered	STAN	Financial
St. James’s Place plc	STJ	Financial
Taylor Wimpey	TW.	Household
Tesco	TSCO	Food/Beverage
Unilever	ULVR	Personal Goods
United Utilities	UU.	Utilities
Vodafone Group	VOD	Telecoms
Weir Group	WEIR	Industrial Goods and Services
Whitbread	WTB	Retail Hospitality
WPP plc	WPP	Media

*FTSE 100 stocks as of 21 June 2021

¹Drug Discovery Trends, 2021