Tallying the 100 leading shares listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the FTSE was formed in 1984 to create a broader guide to the market given its predecessor was the more select FT 30 that had been going since 1935.
Base Level
On its first day, the index was set to a base level of 1,000 and has been recalculated every 15 seconds since.
By 8:45a.m. on its birthday, the index had reached 6,742.64, another milestone in its upward journey for the past half year. After plummeting to a 2013-low of 6,029.10 on 24 June, the FTSE proceeded to gain continually through the second half of last year. A second half record of 6,777.70 record was hit on 30 October.
This movement has prompted somewhat bullish talk of smashing the 7,000 barrier, soaring above and beyond the previous FTSE record high from 1999, when it stood at 6,950.6 on 30 December.
The biggest fall in the FTSE was in October 1987, when the index plummeted by 12%. In the middle of the financial crisis, the FTSE registered five sharp drops, falling between nearly 9% to just over 5%.
Old Faithfuls
Amongst the 100 listed companies, thirty of the original companies listed still remain on the index. They include giants such as Associated British Foods, Rio Tinto and the Marks and Spencer Group. However the biggest sectors with 20 companies in each are Financials, Consumer Goods and Consumer Services.
Market Capitalisation
As of 30 December 2013, the combined market capitalisation of the 100 FTSE constituents is £1.87trn. By contrast, according to earliest available data, the market capitalisation in December 1985 stood at £164bn.
