how does the FT index work?

Question

i want to try and under stand the daily readings which are given on the news.

Answer 1

Financial Times Index. Indicator measuring the daily movement of 30 major industrial share prices on the London Stock Exchange, issued by the UK Financial Times newspaper. Other FT indices cover government securities, fixed-interest securities, gold mine shares, and Stock Exchange activity.
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Exactly as James says below. Ten points belongs to him :-)
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Answer 2

Not by any strange physics! Just a computer rapidly calculating the average of a group of share prices as those shares are bought and sold on the Stock Exchange. That's all it is.