As of May 2025, the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca was the leading company listed on the London Exchange (LSE), with a market capitalization of 159 billion British pounds. This made them the largest of all companies listed on the LSE. Seen as the heart of the global financial community, the London Stock Exchange is the second-largest stock market in Europe and ranks eighth globally. Key information The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is among the largest stock market operators globally and ranks 11th in terms of the oldest stock exchanges in existence, with 224 years of operation as of 2025. Performance after Covid The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the global economy, causing considerable volatility on the stock market. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) saw a notable decline in the market capitalization value of its listed companies, reaching its lowest value in March 2020 at approximately three trillion British pounds in correlation with a surge in the average daily number of trades, which peaked at over two billion. Following this initial reaction, the LSE observed a decrease in the average daily active traders, alongside a gradual recovery in the market capitalization of the listed companies.

The total market capitalization of all companies trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) took a large hit during the early months of 2020, due mostly part to a mass sell-off of shares caused by the fears surrounding the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Between December 2019 and March 2020, the total value of market capitalization decreased by more than *** billion British pounds (GBP). The overall number of companies currently trading has also been falling. The number of daily trades spiked in March 2020 and then decreased as well. As of February 2025, the total market value of all companies trading on the London Stock Exchange stood at over **** trillion British pounds. European stock exchanges While almost every country has a stock Exchange, in Europe only five exchanges are considered major, with total market capital amounting to over *** trillion euros. The London Stock Exchange is the second largest in Europe and tenth largest worldwide. As of January 2025, Europe’s largest stock exchange, Euronext had a total market capital of listed companies valued at approximately **** trillion U.S. dollars.

As of February 2025, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc was the leading company in the industrial goods and services sector on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with a market capitalization of ** billion British pounds. Second on the list was CRH Plc, with a value of **** billion British pounds.

As of February 2025, ************************************************ was the leading technology company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in terms of market capitalization. The corporation was valued at around ** billion British pounds. It was followed in the ranking by ********** and *****************, which reached market values of ** and ***** billion British pounds, respectively.

As of February 2025, Shell Plc was the leading company in the energy sector listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with a total market capitalization value of over *** billion British pounds. This was followed by Reliance Industries Limited and TotalEnergies, with values of over *** billion and *** billion British pounds, respectively.

As of January 29, 2025, the FTSE index stood at ******** points - well above its average value of around ***** points in the past few years.On the 12th of March 2020, amid the escalating crisis surrounding the coronavirus and fears of a global recession, the FTSE 100 suffered the second largest one day crash in its history and the biggest since the 1987 market crash. On the 23rd of March, the FTSE index saw its lowest value this year to date at ******** but has since began a tentative recovery. With the continuation of the pandemic, the FTSE 100 index was making a tentative recovery between late March 2020 and early June 2020. Since then the FSTE 100 index had plateaued towards the end of July, before starting a tentative upward trend in November. FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, otherwise known as the FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 largest companies trading on the London Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. At the end of March 2024, the largest company trading on the LSE was Shell. The largest ever initial public offering (IPO) on the LSE was Glencore International plc. European stock exchanges While nearly every country in Europe has a stock exchange, only five are considered major, and have a market capital of over one trillion U.S dollars. European stock exchanges make up two of the top ten major stock markets in the world. Europe’s biggest stock exchange is the Euronext which combines seven markets based in Belgium, France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.

As of February 2025, the France-incorporated company Saint-Gobain was the second-largest construction company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a market capitalization of approximately ** billion British pounds. The leading construction company on the LSE was the Irish CRH, with a market cap of over ** billion British pounds. Construction and materials companies on the exchange had a combined market capital value of *** billion British pounds as of December 2024. CRH largest Irish company CRH, is an international group of enterprises which cover the construction process from materials and products, to distribution. CRH not only topped the London Stock exchange for construction companies, they are also the second largest company headquartered in Ireland in terms of turnover. London Stock Exchange As of February 2025, the London Stock Exchange had approximately ***** companies trading from more than ** countries globally with a combined market capital of approximately *** trillion British pounds (GBP). Seen as the heart of the global financial community, the London Stock Exchange is the second largest market in Europe and ranks eighth globally.

Astrazeneca was the leading pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom as of March 7, 2024, with a market capitalization amounting to approximately ***** billion U.S. dollars. GlaxoSmithKline followed as the second largest pharma company in the country, with market capitalization of nearly **** billion U.S. dollars. Examining the development of the FTSE 100 Index, which was launched in January 1984 with a base level of 1,000, increased by more than sevenfold to date. What is the FTSE 100 index? The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, commonly known as the "Footsie", is the most widely recognized stock market index in the United Kingdom. It is made up of the 100 largest blue-chip companies on the London Stock Exchange. Companies from various sectors, such as healthcare, consumer goods, and energy, are included in the index, as are leading banks of the United Kingdom, such as HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and Barclays. Moreover, it can be seen as a reflection of the investment climate in the United Kingdom. What is not included in the FTSE 100 Index? Most notably, the FTSE 100 Index, like most indices, is not adjusted for inflation. While inflation in the United Kingdom has gone down dramatically since 2023, it might be useful to adjust the historic figures on the index when comparing historic data to current levels. This is especially important when the index seems to have increased by a few percentage points because inflation may have increased at a faster rate than stock prices.

The British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto was the second-largest company in the basic resources industry listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as of February 2025, in terms of market capitalization, with a value of over ** billion British pounds. The most valuable basic resources company on the LSE was BHP Group, with a market cap of over ** billion British pounds.

As of February 2025, AstraZeneca Plc was by far the leading healthcare company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a total market capitalization of *** billion British pounds. This was followed by GSK Plc and Haleon Plc, with a value of over ** billion and ** billion British pounds, respectively.

As of February 2025, Unilever Plc was the leading company among consumer staples companies on the London Stock Exchange in terms of its market capitalization, with a total value of over *** billion British pounds. This was followed by British American Tobacco Plc and Diageo PLC, with values of over ** billion and ** billion British pounds, respectively.

As of February 2025, British holding bank HSBC Holdings Plc was the leading finance company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a total market capitalization of almost *** billion British pounds. Second in the ranking was Spanish bank Banco Santander S.A., with a market cap of nearly **** billion U.S. dollars.

3i Group was the leading investment company in the United Kingdom (UK) as of October 11, 2024, with a market capitalization amounting to approximately ***** billion U.S. dollars. Legal & General followed as the second largest investment firm in the country, with a market cap of almost ** billion U.S. dollars.

As of February 2025, the largest bank listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was the British-owned *************, with a market cap double that of the ***************************, the second-largest bank on the LSE.

*********** was the leading company in the United Kingdom by market capitalization as of October 11, 2024. Headquartered in Cambridge, England, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company had a market capitalization of approximately ****** billion U.S. dollars.

Hong Kong Land Holdings LD was the leading real estate company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as of April 2023, with a total market capitalization value of nearly ***** billion British pounds. This was followed by Segro Plc and the Land Securities Group Plc, with values of approximately ** billion and **** billion British pounds respectively. In the same month, the total market cap of all real estate companies trading on the LSE was close to *** billion British pounds.

In 2025, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly ** percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was China, followed by the European Union as a whole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

Segro PLC was the biggest real estate investment trust (REIT) trading on the London Stock Exchange as of March 2025. A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs invest in many types of commercial real estate: offices, rental apartments, industrial warehouses, as well as hospitals, hotels, and retail properties. Market cap of REITS As of March 31, 2025, Segro PLC was ranked at the high end of the scale, with approximately ****billion British pounds in market capitalization. Segro PLC operates in eight European countries and specializes in big box and urban warehousing for retailers, logistics and transport companies, manufacturers, wholesalers. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) LSE is one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world, listing approximately ***** companies with an aggregate market capitalization of approximately *** trillion British pounds in 2024.

China Yangtze Power Co., LTD was the leading utilities company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as of February 2025, with a market capitalization of ** billion British pounds. It was followed by National Grid Plc and SSE Plc, which have market values of around ** and ** billion British pounds, respectively.

As of February 2025, China Pacific Insurance Group had the highest market cap of any insurance company trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The group saw a market capitalization of **** billion British pounds. Market capitalization is the outstanding value of a company's shares and is often used to measure the size of a company and investor's interest in each enterprise. London Stock Exchange As of July 2023, there were just under ***** companies trading on the London Stock Exchange, and on average somewhere around ******* trades per day. The combined market value of companies trading on the LSE was *** trillion British pounds (GBP) in July 2023, below the peaks found before the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial public offerings (IPOs) When a private company first offers its shares to the public, the process is called an initial public offering (IPO). IPOs are typically used by growing companies that need to raise capital or by allowing owners to sell off some of their ownership of a company. The Kazakhstani technology-focused bank Kaspi saw the highest initial public offering in 2020 of over *** billion British pounds.