London Stock ExchangeThe British FTSE 100

Introduced in 1984, the FTSE 100 or informally the "Footsie" is an index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

 

Highlights

The FTSE 100 comprises the largest 100 qualifying British companies by market capitalization.

  • FTSE 100 is Britain’s flagship stock market index
  • The five-year average P/E of the FTSE 100 is x14.5
  • The average dividend yield of FTSE for the past 25 years is 3.52% (the 25-year high is 7.01% in 2020 and the 25-year low is 1.94% in 2000)
  • The total UK's stock market cap over GDP is approximately 102% (the 20-year high is 139.4% and the 20-year low is 69.5%)

 

History

The FTSE 100 began to be calculated in 1984 and it is managed by the  FTSE Group. In 1995, FTSE International was formed as a joint venture of FT and LSE. In 2015, the FTSE Group was merged with Russell Indexes and formed FTSE Russell, which manages US stock market indices such as the Russell 2000.

  • The index is maintained by the FTSE Group which is a subsidiary of the LSE
  • FTSE stands for 'Financial Times Stock Exchange'
  • The starting level of the index in 1984 was 1000 points
  • Over the years, there were some crucial changes to the index, for example, the adjustment of individual stocks’ weight to reflect the free market float
  • Trading on the London Stock Exchange starts at 08:00 and ends at 16:30 (when the closing auction starts)

 

Price/Earnings Ratio

The five-year average P/E of the FTSE 100 is x14.5

Concerning the UK's FTSE All-Share, these are the historical recorded high/low P/E ratios:

  • The P/E ratio reached an all-time high of 34.2 (September 2016)
  • The P/E ratio reached an all-time low of 7.4 (March 2009)

 

Calculating FTSE 100

In all FTSE indices, the prices of listed shares are weighted by free-float capitalization. This means that larger companies with more free float make more of a difference to the index compared to small companies.

  • The index is calculated in real-time and published every second (initially, it was calculated every 1 minute)
  • The FTSE constituents are reviewed every single quarter
  • The weighting method of the index is the Capitalisation-weighted
  • The largest weighed companies of FTSE 100 are AstraZeneca, Shell, Unilever, and HSBC
  • The five (5) largest individual stocks represent approximately one-third of the FTSE 100 index
  • UK-incorporated securities in the FTSE must have a minimum free float of 10%. For non-UK incorporated securities the minimum free float is 25%

 

Chart: The historic (3-month) chart of the FTSE 100

FTSE 100 (3-month) chart

 

FTSE 100 Sector Weightings

Consumer Staples is the largest sector in FTSE 100 (weighting of 19.38%), Financial Industry is the second largest (weighting of 17.67%), and Energy is the third (weighting of 13.02%).

Table: FTSE 100 Sector Weightings

Sector Weight Sector Weight
Consumer Staples 19.38% Consumer Discretionary 6.12%
Financials 17.67% Communications 3.27%
Energy 13.02% Utilities 3.85%
Health Care 12.32% Real Estate 1.06%
Materials 12.29% Information Technology 0.98%
Industrials 10.04%    

 

 

Other FTSE 100 Indexes

  • FTSE 250 Index, which is a better indication of the UK economy as it contains a smaller proportion of international companies
  • FTSE 350 Index, which is the aggregation of the FTSE 100 and 250
  • FTSE SmallCap Index
  • FTSE Fledgling Index
  • FTSE All-Share, which aggregates the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and FTSE SmallCap

 

Compare Brokers Trading Stock Market Indices

These are some CFD brokers trading stock market indices: 

FOREX BROKER

EQUITY TRADING

PLATFORMS

ACCOUNTS

INFORMATION

» ROBOFOREX

REGULATED BY:

  • FSC 000138/437 (Belize)

SEGREGATED CLIENT BANK ACCOUNTS:

  • YES (EUROPEAN BANKING)

FOUNDATION:

  • 2009

US TRADERS: NO

 

STOCK MARKET INDICES

There are more than 10 indices available on RoboForex:

  • S&P 500 (US500Cash)
  • NASDAQ (USTECHCash)
  • DOW JONES (US30Cash)
  • NIKKEI (JP225Cash)
  • DAX (DE40Cash)

 

 

ONLINE PLATFORMS FOR TRADING STOCK INDICES

□ MetaTrader-4 | MetaTrader-5

□ RStocksTrader | WebTrader

  • SCALPING: YES
  • FREE VPS: YES
  • PAMM ACCOUNT: MAM

FULL ASSET INDEX:

  • 35+ Currency Pairs
  • 10+ Indices
  • Commodities
  • Precious Metals
  • Cryptocurrencies

 

  • $10 Minimum Deposit Amount

PROMOTIONS:

  • Welcome Bonus 30 USD
  • Free VPS Server
  • Up to 10% on Account Balance

 

FUND METHODS:

  • Cards
  • Bank Wire
  • Skrill
  • Neteller
  • AdvCash
  • PerfectMoney

 

FEATURES

  • Fast Trading, ideal for scalping
  • Free VPS for Auto-Trading
  • MAM Accounts
  • $30 No-Deposit Bonus

 

Register with RoboForex


Review the Broker

» IC MARKETS


REGULATED BY:

  • ASIC (AUSTRALIA)

SEGREGATED CLIENT BANK ACCOUNTS:

  • YES

FOUNDATION:

  • 2007

US TRADERS: NO

 

STOCK MARKET INDICES

There are more than 25 indices available on IC Markets:

  • UK100 (United Kingdom)
  • US30 | US500 | US2000 | USTEC
  • DE40 | TecDE30 (Germany)
  • STOXX50 (Europe)
  • JP225 (Japan)
  • HK50 (Hong Kong)
  • ES35 (Spain) | IT40 (Italy) | F40 (France)
  • CHINA50 (China)
  • CA60 (Canada)
  • AUS200 (Australia)

CONDITIONS:

  • Leverage up to 1:20
  • Spreads from 0.5 pips

 

ONLINE PLATFORMS FOR TRADING STOCK INDICES

□ MetaTrader4 | MetaTrader5

□ WebTrader | cTrader

  • SCALPING: YES
  • FREE VPS: YES
  • PAMM/MAM ACCOUNT: BOTH

TRADING ASSETS:

  • 55+ Currency Pairs
  • 25+ Indices
  • Commodities
  • Precious Metals

 

  • $200 Minimum Deposit Amount

PROMOTIONS:

  • Free VPS Server

FUND METHODS:

  • Credit Cards
  • Bank Wire
  • MoneyBookers
  • Neteller
  • WebMoney

 

FEATURES

  • Tight spreads plus low commissions
  • Many currency pairs and cryptocurrencies
  • PAMM accounts
  • Many Trading Platforms
  • FIX/API Trading
  • Fully automated trading allowance and FIX/API

 

IC Markets Website


Review the Broker

 

 

Resources:

 

The FTSE 100

CarryTrader.com (c)

Pin It

Foreign Exchange

The Foreign Exchange Market is the largest Financial Market in the world with daily volumes of more than 4 trillion USD. When trading Forex you need a reliable and high-regulated Forex broker and a trading strategy that works:

(i) Introduction to Forex Trading

(ii) Forex Brokers for Traders

(iii) Major Currency Pairs

(iv) Trading Rebate Plans

(v) Automated Forex Systems

Global Markets

Trading the Financial Markets requires a perfect understanding of how demand and supply shift from time to time. Equities tend to follow bullish cycles lasting 7-9 years, and after, bearish cycles lasting 3-4 years. Energies tend to follow annual time patterns while Precious Metals tend to follow longer time cycles:

(i) Gold Trading

(ii) Crude Oil Trading

(iii) Cryptocurrencies

(iv) Stock Market Indices

Learning

If you are a trader, learning is a non-stop process. CarryTrader offers a wide variety of educational resources including trade tools, techniques, and strategies:

(i) Currency Indices

(ii) Famous Investors

(iii) Technical Analysis

(iv) Brokers for Carry Traders

Go to top