Last month I wrote an article titled Five Companies with the Largest Market Cap Gains in this Decade. Three of the companies in that list were BHP Billiton, Vale and Petrobras.

In the Year-End Review of Markets & Finance, The Wall Street Journal listed the biggest gainers in market value in 2009. Only stocks which had a market value of at least $5B at the start of the year were considered in this ranking.

The six ADRs with the largest market cap gains in 2009 were:

1. Petrobras (PBR)
Change in Market Cap = $114.92B

2. BHP Billiton(BHP, BBL)
Change in Market Cap = $85.65B

3. Rio Tinto (RTP)
Change in Market Cap = $84.40B

4. Vale(VALE)
Change in Market Cap = $84.34B

5. HSBC Holdings (HBC)
Change in Market Cap = $83.07B

6. Banco Santander (SAN)
Change in Market Cap = $61.85B

As noted above, BHP Billiton, Vale and Petrobras appeared in the top market cap gainers in the last decade also. Out of the 10 market cap gainers in 2009, six were foreign companies.