The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index has been a damp squib over the past 12 months. In the year ending 24 November 2023, the index has gained just 0.2%, excluding cash dividends.
Yet again, this leaves London’s leading stock-market index lagging far behind global counterparts. For example, the US S&P 500 has gained 15% in one year, while the Japanese TOPIX index is up 19.3%.
A mixed bag
Of course, the index’s constituent shares have delivered a wide range of returns. Some have shot out the lights, while others have crashed and burned over 12 months.
Of 99 shares in the index for a full year, 47 generated positive returns, excluding dividends. These gains range from 1% to a delightful 164.7%. The average gain across all these winners is 23.9% — easily beating the FTSE 100’s return.
Therefore, this leaves 52 losers — those stocks with declining values over 12 months. These capital losses range from 0.8% to an unpleasant 43.8%. The average fall across all 52 losers is 12.8%.
The Footsie’s biggest dogs
My first thought earlier was do the FTSE 100’s worst performers have anything in common? To find out, I tracked down these five dog stocks — the index’s worst performers over 12 months:
| Company | Sector | One-year return |
| Anglo American | Mining | -31.4 |
| Croda International | Speciality chemicals | -34.4 |
| Entain | Sports betting and gambling | -39.0 |
| Fresnillo | Mining | -41.2 |
| St James’s Place | Investment management | -43.8 |
At first glance, there’s nothing obvious to connect all five FTSE 100 flops. However, two firms in the same field — miners Anglo American and Fresnillo — have suffered as the prices of various precious and base metals have dropped back in 2023.
Elsewhere, Croda International‘s earnings took a hit due to weak demand in some of its major markets. Only its pharmaceutical division seems to have held up well this year.
Entain, owner of betting brands Coral and Ladbrokes, has stumbled from one crisis to another in recent years. Earlier this week, it agreed to pay a £585m fine to settle bribery charges in Turkey. Ouch.
Lastly, I’ve long avoided St James’s Place and its shares, being wary of its expensive product charges and high fees for financial management. Now the company’s business model is under scrutiny by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
What next?
As an investor with 37 years in the market, I know that making predictions about the future direction of individual shares prices is a foolish (not Foolish) folly.
In addition, history shows that this year’s dogs can go on to become next year’s stars (and vice versa). Therefore, I’ll make no predictions about the future movements of these five struggling FTSE 100 shares.
Finally, for the record, my wife and bought Anglo American stock in August, following steep falls in its share price. We paid 2,202.4p a share for our stake. Since then, the shares have been up and down like a yo-yo — so often the case with mining stocks!
