Financial Times Share Indexes, The

The Financial Times-Stock Exchange (FTSE) Actuaries Share Indexes are calculated by the Institute of Actuaries and the Faculty of Actuaries as weighted arithmetic averages for 10 broad sectors of the market (general industrial, cyclical consumer goods, etc. ), which are further divided into 34 industry subsectors. They are widely used by investors and portfolio managers. The widest measure of the market is provided by the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index of over 700 shares and fixed-interest stocks, which includes a selection from the financial sector. Calculated after the end of daily business, it covers over 98% of the market and some 90% of turnover by value. For many years the Financial Times Ordinary Share Index (FT 30) was the main day-to-day market barometer. It records the movements of 30 leading industrial and commercial shares, chosen to be representative of British industry rather than of the Stock Exchange as a whole; it therefore excludes banks, insurance companies, and government stocks. The index, which started from a base of 100 in 1935, is an unweighted geometric average, calculated hourly during the day and closing at 4. 30 pm. The FT 30 continues to be published but has been superseded as the main indicator of market activity by the Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100 Share Index (FTSE 100 or Footsie), a weighted arithmetic index representing the price of 100 securities with a base of 1000 on 3 January 1984. This index is calculated minute-by-minute and its constituents, whose membership is by market capitalization above £1 billion, are reviewed quarterly. In 1992 the UK index series was extended to create two further real-time indexes, the FTSE 250, comprising companies capitalized between £150 million and £1 billion, and the FTSE 350, which aggregates the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250. Both are based on 31 December 1985 and are calculated both inclusive and exclusive of investment companies. The FTSE 350 is the source for the FTSE 350 Supersectors, a series of 18 indexes based on industry baskets that provide an instant view of industry performance across the market. The baskets correspond roughly to sectors defined by markets in New York and Tokyo. There are also several indexes for smaller companies. The FTSE SmallCap Index covers over 350 companies capitalized between £20 million and £150 million; it is calculated at the end of the day's business, both including and excluding investment trusts. The FTSE Fledgling Index covers all those companies that are too small to be included in the SmallCap Index but that meet the other criteria for inclusion in the UK Index series. The mainly smaller companies on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market are covered by the FTSE AIM Index. The Financial Times Government Securities Index measures the movements of government stocks (gilts). Several indexes now measure the performance of companies resident and incorporated in the European Union. These include the Euro-Top 100 Index of the 100 most highly capitalized EU companies, the FTSE Euro 100 Index of eurozone companies, and the FTSE New EU Index, which covers the markets of the ten countries that joined the EU in May 2004. In 2003 FTSE Ltd launched the Eurofirst Index series in conjunction with the cross-border derivatives exchange Euronext NV; the most important of these is the FTSE Eurofirst 300 Index of blue-chip European companies. The FTSE All-World Index was launched in 1987 and now covers over 2700 share prices from 48 countries. With sectors for the developed world and the emerging economies, it is calculated daily and published in sterling, euros, US dollars, and yen.