According to the Financial Times, mining stocks were the fastest-growing sector of the FTSE 100 index during the last decade, rising from 2.4% of the index’s market capitalisation in 1999 to 11.3% today.

Telecoms stocks, which constituted the largest index sector a decade ago during the internet bubble, have plummeted in size.  BT’s share price has fallen 89% over ten years and that of Cable and Wireless 86%, while Marconi fell out of the index completely in 2001.

Banks’ FTSE 100 weighting ended the decade where it started – at 13% - though this hides the roller-coaster ride of financial stocks during the period, with banks reaching a high of 20% before the credit crunch and a low of 7% earlier this year, says the FT.

Three of the top five companies by size a decade ago have retained their place in the ranking, according to the newspaper.  Today, the top five companies by market size (in descending order) are HSBC, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Vodafone and GlaxoSmithKline. In 1999, the top five were BP, BT, Vodafone, HSBC and GlaxoSmithKline.

Overall, the performance of the FTSE 100 during the last decade was the worst on record, with a 22% drop.  Adjusted for inflation, the return for equity investors was -34.8%, whereas if dividends were reinvested the index’s total return was -9.1%, reports the FT.