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FTSE 100 Index | DAX | Nikkei 225 | Hang Seng Index | CAC 40 | MIBTEL | KOSPI 200

FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index (pronounced footsie) is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, begun on 3 January 1984. The index was developed with a base level of 1000 on that date. Component companies must meet a number of requirements set out by the FTSE Group, including having a full listing on the London Stock Exchange with a Sterling or Euro dominated price on SETS, and meeting certain tests on nationality, free float, and liquidity. Trading lasts from 0800-1629 (when the closing auction starts), and closing values are taken at 1635.(Mainly though the closing Value of the FTSE100 is at 16:36). The highest value of the index to date was 6950.6, set on 30 December 1999.

The index is seen as a barometer of success of the British economy and is the leading share index in Europe. It is maintained by the FTSE Group, a now independent company which originated as a joint venture between the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange (hence the abbreviation Financial Times Stock Exchange is a bit misleading considering it is actually an index company not actually a stock exchange at all). According to the FTSE Group's website the FTSE 100 companies represent about 80% of the UK share market.

Related indices are the FTSE 250 Index (which lists the next largest 250 companies), FTSE SmallCap Index., FTSE Fledgling, the FTSE 350 Index (which is the aggregation of the FTSE 100 and 250), and the FTSE All-Share Index (which aggregates the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE SmallCap).

The constituents of the index are determined quarterly; the largest companies in the FTSE 250 Index are promoted if their market capitalisation would place them in the top 90 firms of the FTSE 100 Index. As of 2006, the threshold for inclusion is about 2.9 billion pounds [1]. As of 29 December 2006 the 6 largest constituents of the index were BP, Royal Dutch Shell, HSBC Holdings, the Vodafone Group, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and GlaxoSmithKline, which were each valued at more than ?60 billion.

Most of the companies listed on this index usually include the abbreviation plc at the end of their name, indicating their status of public limited companies. This reflects the quarterly reshuffle of 30 March 2007, in which Daily Mail and General Trust was promoted to the index at the expense of Cairn Energy.

There are 100 companies in the index, but a total of 101 listings as two classes of shares are included for Royal Dutch Shell.
DAX

DAX 30 (Deutsche Aktien Xchange 30, former Deutscher Aktien-Index 30) is a Blue Chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra trading system. The L-DAX Index is an indicator of the German benchmark DAX 30 Index's performance after the Xetra electronic-trading system closes based on the floor trading at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The L-DAX Index basis is the "floor" trade (Parketthandel) at the Frankfurt stock exchange; it is computed daily between 09:00 and 17:30 Hours CET. Then the L-DAX (Late DAX 30) is calculated from 17:30 to 20:00 CET. The Eurex, a European electronic futures and options exchange based in Zurich, Switzerland with a subsidary in Frankfurt, Germany, offers options (ODAX) and Futures (FDAX) on the DAX from 08:00 to 22:00 CET.
Nikkei 225

Nikkei 225 is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). The Nikkei average is the most watched index of Asian stocks. It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) newspaper since 1971. It is a price-weighted average (the unit is Yen), and the components are reviewed once a year.

The Nikkei 225 began to be calculated on September 7, 1950, retroactively calculated back to May 16, 1949.

Stocks are weighted on the Nikkei 225 by giving an equal weighting based on a par value of 50 yen per share. Events such as stock splits, removals and addtions of constituents impact upon the effective weighting of individual stocks and the divisor. The Nikkei 225 is designed to reflect the overall market, so there is no specific weighting of industries.

Stocks are reviewed annually and announcements of review results are made in September. Changes, if required, are made at the beginning of October. Changes may also take place at any time if a stock is found to be ineligible for the Stock Average (e.g. delistings, etc.). All proposed changes will be announced in Nikkei's Japanese newspapers and will appear on NNI.

After a stock has been replaced, the divisor is reviewed and modified to ensure a smooth transition of the stock index.
Hang Seng Index

Hang Seng Index (abbreviated: HSI, Chinese) is a capitalization-weighted stock market index in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is used to record and monitor daily changes of the largest companies of the Hong Kong stock market and as the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong. These companies represent about 65% of capitalization of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

HSI was started on November 24, 1969, compiled and maintained by HSI Services Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hang Seng Bank, the second largest bank listed in Hong Kong in terms of market capitalisation. It is responsible for compiling, publishing and managing the Hang Seng Index and a range of other stock indexes, such as Hang Seng Composite Index, Hang Seng HK MidCap Index, etc.

When the Hang Seng Index was first published, its base of 100 points was set equivalent to the stocks' total value as of the market close on July 31, 1964. Its all-time low is 58.61 points, reached retroactively on August 31, 1967, after the base value was established but before the publication of the index. The Hang Seng passed the 10,000 point milestone for the first time in its history on December 6, 1993 and 13 years later, passed the 20,000 point milestone on December 28, 2006. Its all-time high is 21,070.21 points, reached on May 7, 2007, when it closed at a record 20,896 points.

HSI constituent stocks are selected with the use of extensive analysis, together with external consultation. To be qualified for selection, a company: must be among those that comprise top 90% of the total market value of all ordinary shares; must be among those that comprise top 90% of the total turnover on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited "SEHK"; should have a listing history of 24 months; and should not be a foreign company as defined by the SEHK.

Among the eligible candidates, final selections are based on their: market capitalisation and turnover rankings; representation of the respective sub-sectors within HSI; and financial performance.

Investors in Asian markets monitor the following reports for investment activities:

CAC 40

The CAC 40, which takes its name from Paris Bourse's early automation system Cotation Assistee en Continu (Continuous Assisted Quotation), is a French stock market index. The index represents a capitalization-weighted measure of the 40 most significant values among the 100 highest market caps on the Paris Bourse. Its base value of 1,000 was set on 31 December 1987. As of 1 December 2003, the index has become a free float weighted index.

Interestingly, although CAC 40 is composed of "French" companies, about 45% of their shares are owned by foreign investors. German investors share the largest part of it at 21%. Japanese, American and British investors are also important owners - this percentage is unusually high.The explanation can be in the fact that CAC 40 companies, or multinational, are more international than any other European market. Many of these companies conduct business outside of France (63% of the CAC 40 companies' employees are outside of France).

It is part of the pan-european Stock exchange Euronext N.V. alongside with Brussels' BEL20, Lisboa's PSI-20 and Amsterdam's AEX. Paris Stock Exchange is known as Euronext Paris.

MIBTEL

MIBTEL is the most important, since it "summarises" all the shares listed on the MTA and MTAX markets and of certain foreign shares whose identification is based on liquidity criteria and is published in a Notice. . It is calculated and disseminated at one-minute intervals from continuous trading on the basis of the prices of the latest contracts concluded for each share in the index. The index base is set at 10,000 points in reference to 3 January 1994. The MIBTEL is a price index and therefore, does not take into account the detachment of dividends or any periodic returns paid by the constituent companies.

KOSPI 200

KOSPI 200 is a capitalization-weighted index of 200 Korean stocks that make up 93% of the total market value of the Korea Stock Exchange. As the underlying index for stock index futures and options, KOSPI 200 constituents selected from all issues listed on the KRX stock market. Constituents are chosen based on factors such as liquidity and how well they represent their respective markets and industries. KOSPI 200 has been calculated and published since June, 15 1994 with a base index of 100 set to January 3, 1990.

KOSPI 200 is a market capitalization weighted index. It includes several well-known global companies such as Samsung Electronics, POSCO, and Hyundai Motor Co and others.

KOSPI 200 is updated on the KRX website every 2 seconds and is available in statistical KRX publication "KRX Review" on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. In addition, past indices have been made available for investors' retrospective to January 3, 1990.