FTSE Today: London Stock Exchange News & Analysis

There are several different UK stock market indexes on the London Stock Exchange.

• FTSE 100 Index: Made up of the 100 companies with the highest market capitalisations on the London Stock Exchange.
• FTSE 250 Index: Made up of the next 250 companies by market cap, following the top 100 on the FTSE 100.
• FTSE 350 Index: Made up of the largest 350 companies on the LSE, meaning the summation of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.
• FTSE Small Cap Index: Made up of the 351st to 619th next largest market cap (beyond the FTSE 350) on the LSE, and mostly features small-cap companies.
• FTSE All-Share Index: Made up of the valuation of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and FTSE Small Cap.
• FTSE Fledging Index: Made up of the companies registered on the London Stock exchange with relatively very small market capitalisation and are not qualified to evaluate the FTSE All-Share Index.

The LSE is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am – 12:00pm, and 12:02pm – 4:30pm Greenwich Mean Time. There are also pre-trading hours available from 5:05am – 7:50am, as well as post-trading hours available from 4:40pm – 5:15pm.

The LSE is closed for a handful of market holidays. They include:

• New Year's Day (full holiday)
• Good Friday (full holiday)
• Easter Monday (full holiday)
• Early May bank holiday (full holiday)
• Late May bank holiday (full holiday)
• Summer bank holiday (full holiday)
• Christmas Eve (partial trading schedule)
• Christmas (full holiday)

There are over 1,970 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The figure has been steadily decreasing since 2015 as the number of initial public offerings and direct listings hasn’t kept up with the number of acquisitions and insolvencies during this period.

Trading on the LSE isn’t complicated. Here are a few steps to help you get started investing:

• First, you’ll need a brokerage account. If you don’t already have one, you can see our top picks for UK brokers here.
• Next, you’ll want to load funds into your account. You can add as much or as little as you can manage. The important part is that you start with something!
• Research the type of investments you want to buy. Stock investing isn’t one-size-fits all. You can buy shares directly, or, if you want to take a passive approach, you can buy a fund (which essentially chooses them for you).
• Purchase your investments. This is the fun part! Submit a trade order for your stocks or funds of choice.
• Invest consistently over time. Most beginning investors assume they need a large lump sum to invest in stocks, but that’s not true. What you need is the dedication to invest frequently and consistently, over a long period of time. That way, you can take advantage of the power of compound interest to build your wealth.