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The FTSE 100 - visualising the London Stock Exchange's most famous stock index

Investors and market enthusiasts often turn to indices to gauge the overall health and performance of stock markets. One of the most notable indices in the world is the FTSE 100. In this blog post, we will explore what the FTSE 100 is, why it is important, and delve into some insightful data visualizations to help understand its trends and movements.

What is the FTSE 100?

The FTSE 100, or the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) by market capitalization. It is a crucial indicator of the performance of major UK companies and, by extension, the UK economy. Established in January 1984, the FTSE 100 is managed by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.

Why is the FTSE 100 Important?

  • Market Performance Indicator: The FTSE 100 provides a snapshot of the market performance of major UK companies. When the FTSE 100 rises, it generally indicates that the larger companies are performing well, which can be a sign of a healthy economy.
  • Investor Confidence: Investors use the FTSE 100 to gauge confidence in the UK market. A rising index often reflects positive sentiment, while a declining index might indicate investor caution or pessimism.
  • Economic Health: The FTSE 100 can also reflect the broader economic health of the UK. Many of the companies in the index are multinational corporations, so their performance can be affected by global economic conditions.

Visualizing the FTSE 100

To better understand the FTSE 100, let's dive into this data visualization.

  • Sector Breakdown The FTSE 100 comprises companies from various sectors, which are listed on the right hand side of the visualisation above. If you hover over a sector, it will highlight the related stocks by enlarging their circles.
  • Stock Info. Hover over a circle to show the tooltip with the stock name, sector and metric detail.
  • Change the metric Use the buttons at the top of the visualisation to change the metric on the horizontal axis.
  • Sort by Press the far-right button to sort the chart by either metric or sector.

Metrics

The visualisation lets you change the horizontal variable, with the following options available:

  • marketcap Market capitalization.
  • pe Price/Earnings ratio
  • change Daily price change vs. the previous trading day.
  • changepct Percentage price change vs. the previous trading day.
  • eps Earnings per share.
  • volume The current day's trading volume.
  • volumeavg The average daily trading volume.
  • price Real-time price quote, delayed by up to 20 minutes. This is shown alongside the 52-week high and low.
  • Sector/Size This toggles the sorting by horizontal-axis metric, or, by sector.

Happy Investing