The FTSE, also known as footsie, is made up of several different indices, which include:

1. FTSE 100
2. FTSE 250
3. FTSE 350
4. FTSE Small Cap
5. FTSE All share.

The FTSE indices are traded on the London Stock exchange from Monday to Friday apart from bank holidays. The FTSE market opens at 8 a.m. and trades until 4.29 p.m., with the FTSE 100 closing price being announced at 4.35pm. The FTSE 100 accounts for around 81% of the United Kingdom's capitalization and is made up of 100 of the UK's most successful money making companies. The 100 companies that make up the FTSE 100 are reviewed every three months and in order to be included in the FTSE 100 it is estimated that your company needs to be worth around 1.7 billion pounds. Currently the top five FTSE 100 companies are BP, HSBC Holdings, the Vodafone Group, GlaxoSmithKline, and Royal Dutch Shell.

The FTSE 100 Share prices provide a measure of the British economy and are ever changing depending on the performance of the FTSE 100 constituents. FTSE 100 share prices are calculated every 15 seconds and there are many online trading sites which display the updated FTSE 100 share prices. The current FTSE 100 Share prices are 5358 as of close on February 19, 2010.

The first FTSE 100 Share prices were 1000 points when the FTSE 100 began trading. In the last week FTSE 100 share prices have been starting to rise again, however they still have not reached the highs seen at the beginning of January 2010 when the FTSE 100 was closing at around 5538 points.

One cannot tell what the future holds for FTSE 100 share prices. The current trend does suggest some upward bullish movement, however with the future of the UK economy still in doubt and concerns over inflation, it may be a good idea to avoid FTSE 100 trading until a stronger signal is initiated.

One of the ways to monitor the FTSE 100 share prices is to look at the FTSE 100 close each day. The FTSE 100 closed at a share price of 5723 on 23rd April 2010. At the start of January 2010 the FTSE 100 was closing much lower around 5000. Therefore the increase in FTSE Close price indicates that the FTSE 100 has been bullish of late.

The content on this page is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Please consult a financial expert before taking any action suggested on this page.