The composition of the FTSE 100 has changed dramatically since its introduction in 1984. Most of the original companies listed have disappeared through mergers or takeovers or have fallen from grace while others have emerged to take their place. In fact, only 28 of the original 100 remain on the list.
Today, the FTSE 100 is primarily made up of multinational companies. Many of them are household names, including:
- BP (oil producer)
- Rio Tinto (mining)
- BHP Billiton (mining)
- Royal Dutch Shell (resources)
- GlaxoSmithKline (pharmaceuticals)
- Unilever (consumer goods)
- Coca Cola (consumer goods)
- Diageo (consumer goods)
- HSBC (financial services)
- Barclays (financial services)
- Lloyds (financial services)
As evidenced by the above, the index is dominated by financial services, resources stocks and consumer goods, though the healthcare, industrial and telecommunications sectors also make up a significant portion of the index in terms of weighting. One thing that distinguishes the FTSE 100 from its US counterparts like the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 is the almost total lack of tech stocks, which make up only a little more than 1% of the index.