The London Stock Exchange FTSE IndexEvery listed share receives a weighting in the index and this weighting relates to a number of factors. In general, market cap is the main factor. This means that firms such as Vodafone and BP make up very large parts of the movement of the top 100 index and the FTSE All Share. In fact, depending on current values (which are obviously always moving) the shares of the FTSE 100 index usually make up over 80% of the total value of the listed shares on the London Stock Exchange! In other words, as interesting as it may be to watch the 250 index or concentrate on the FTSE Fledgling, all the action is in the top 100 companies. If you would like to see how the London Stock Exchange FTSE Index is performing and what shares are currently in the prestigious 100 list, just click on this link to go to the Bloomberg market movers page:
Each constituent weighting is adjusted to reflect restricted shareholdings and foreign ownership to ensure an accurate representation of investable market capitalisation. The first index was the FT 30 which began at a starting point of 100 in 1935. It is also known as the FT Ordianry Share Index. It contains 30 of the UK's largest quoted companies and is calculated as a geometric mean. The FT 30 is mainly made up of industrial firms which means that it isn't very representative of the UK economy or stock market. FTSE also offer a range of other indices to give global values and many other things. For example: All-World Index Series, Global Equity Index Series, Global Islamic Index Series, Global Sector Index Series, Global Small Cap Index Series, Global Style Index Series, Gold Mines Index Series, Multinationals Index Series, Watch List Index Series Global Bond Index Series, UK Gilts Index Series Do you want to improve your trading skills? Click here to watch a free online
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