The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, casually, the “footsie”/ˈfutsiː/, is a benchmark index of the 100 top companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest business promotion. It is one of the most actively traded stock indices. In this post, we will discuss how to trade FTSE 100 Index.
More about FTSE 100 Index (Footsie)
The google finance symbol code for this index is INDEXFTSE: UKX. The index started on 3 January 1984 at the base level of 1000. Its highest point marked to date is 7,903.50, on 22 May 2018. In the recession period during the fiscal emergency of 2007-2010, it went below 3500 in March 2009. The index recouped to a top of 6091.33 on 8 February 2011 and again fell under the 5000 mark on the morning of 23 September 2011. However, now it is trading at close to 7500 as of 18th December 2019.
Where to check FTSE 100 Index live?
Though we are from India, still we need to follow all major world indices as indices are interlinked. Many times global factors affect our stock market. So here I am providing a few ways how you can check Footsie index rates.
Check Footsie using a Google search
Google is the best source to check the live rates of this index. You will also get its end-of-day charts in google. But these charts will be basic charts. You can not use indicators or any technical studies here.
Check Footsie using other charting sources
In our website
Our website has an end-of-day charts section. Here you can not check live charts, but end-of-day daily candles are available along with all major studies. You can check the end of day charts of this index here. Go to the page and once the chart loads in the symbol search box write FTSE index.
In the drop down you can check the available symbols. Here you can find a drop-down name Z. In this Z1 is the continuous chart of near-month futures of Footsie. Z2 is the continuous chart of the next month’s futures of the index. We have selected Z1.
FTSE 100 Index live chart
You can check Footsie index live charts on Investing.com. Go to this page and you can get intraday 5-minute charts of the FTSE Index live. You can use all major studies here and do your own technical analysis. You can also get trend analysis in multi time frames on this website.
How to trade FTSE 100 Index with free tools?
Now let’s come to the point of how to trade the FTSE 100 index with a free tool like the Elliott waves calculator. Open the elliott waves calculator here.
You only need to know today’s high, low and close to get tomorrow’s trade levels. For instance, today we get high at 6840.40, low at 6796.40 and close at 6839.30. We put the HLC in the text boxes in the elliott wave calculator and click CALCULATE.
And we get levels instantly for tomorrow.
Go Short at/below 6840.4. Stoploss at 6847.24. Target 1 is 6813.2.
Go Short at/below 6830.01. Stoploss at 6847.24. Target 2 is 6808.63.
The system gives very small stop loss and a decent target. However, if you have any questions on how to trade FTSE 100 index with the Elliott waves calculator do visit our CONTACT US page.
Not only the Elliott Wave calculator we can trade Footsie using Pivot Points or Camarilla Pivot Points.
FAQ Section
When it comes to investing in the UK stock market, two terms that often come up are FTSE 100 and Footsie. If you’re new to this world, you might have some questions. In this FAQ section, we’ll provide brief answers to some common queries about FTSE 100 index and Footsie.
FTSE 100 is an index that tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, by market capitalization. The acronym FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange, which created the index in 1984.
The companies in FTSE 100 index are ranked by market capitalization, which is the total value of their outstanding shares. Therefore, the company with the highest market cap is usually considered the “number 1” in terms of size. As of 16th of March 2023, the company with the highest market cap in FTSE 100 is Shell Global with a Market Cap of 1,70,582 Million Dollars.
The constituents of the FTSE 100 index change over time, as the market value of companies, fluctuates. However, some of the well-known companies that have been part of the index for a long time include [insert names]. Note that being part of the FTSE 100 does not guarantee a company’s success or profitability, as some companies might underperform or face challenges.
The average return on FTSE 100 depends on the time period you look at and the method of calculation. Generally speaking, investing in the stock market involves risk and volatility, as the prices of shares can go up or down rapidly. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Some investors use FTSE 100 as a benchmark to compare their portfolio’s performance against, but it’s not the only or the best measure of success.
As per the image, we can understand that Footsie has already given more than 6 times the return to the investors.
Conclusion
Trading the FTSE 100 index or Footsie is the profession of many traders worldwide. Mainly traders from Great Britain trade this index. This is a highly liquid tradable index. So it can be traded using charts as well as it can be traded using trading tools like Pivot Point Calculator or Elliott Wave Calculator. You can also get the indices data into charting platforms like AmiBroker or TradingView. This will help you in the technical analysis of the index and trade it effectively.