The index grabbed attention from the start, but shows its age as 21st-century tech stocks go elsewhere
Here is a poor prediction from 40 years ago, 1984, when the FTSE 100 index was born. There is “no question of the FT 30 index disappearing,” opined the deputy chief executive of the Financial Times, arguing that the new-fangled creation would sit happily alongside the paper’s own FT 30, the pre-eminent barometer of the UK stock market since 1935.
It did not work out that way. The FTSE 100 grabbed attention from the off, just as its designers intended. It was created by the London Stock Exchange and the early players in the futures and options market for the then emerging era of electronic trading and derivative products. A catchy shorthand – the Footsie – helped.
About Author
More Stories
BYD launches cheapest UK model in bid to overtake Tesla as biggest electric carmaker
Trump trade deal shows how vital China’s rare-earth metals are to US defense firms
Oil and gold prices soar and stock markets fall after Israel’s attacks on Iran