The FTSE 100
Fear & Greed Index
One number for the mood of the UK market — built from FTSE momentum, realized volatility, the pound, and how the UK is performing relative to broader Europe. A contrarian reference point, not a trading signal.
Embed this widget →The four components
The index is an equally weighted average of four readings — each a different angle on what UK equity investors are doing. Components reflect the structural reality of the FTSE 100: a multinational-heavy, currency-sensitive index whose constituents earn most of their revenue outside the UK and trade as much on global conditions as on domestic ones.
History
Daily readings since coverage began, overlaid with the FTSE 100 closing level. Bands shade the 0–100 score by sentiment zone — extreme fear at the bottom, extreme greed at the top.
Methodology
Each component is percentile-ranked against its trailing two-year distribution, then equal-weighted into a 0–100 composite. This treats every component as a contextual reading — "how unusual is today versus the recent past" — rather than an absolute threshold.
Market Momentum
FTSE 100 vs its 125-day moving average, expressed as a ratio. The ratio is percentile-ranked against the trailing two years. Above the MA = positive momentum; how far above (vs history) sets the score.
Volatility
20-day annualized realized volatility of FTSE 100 daily log returns. Percentile-ranked over two years and inverted — calm conditions mean a high score (greed), elevated realized risk means a low score (fear). This measures actual UK equity volatility, not implied options volatility, and uses the same realized-vol methodology as the NIFTY, KOSPI, Nikkei, and DAX regional indices.
Currency
GBP/USD 60-day percentage change, percentile-ranked and inverted. The FTSE 100 derives ~75% of its revenue from outside the UK — Shell, BP, AstraZeneca, HSBC, Unilever, Diageo, and GSK are global multinationals that happen to be listed in London. When the pound strengthens, those foreign earnings translate to fewer pounds and the score moves toward fear; when the pound weakens, the translation tailwind moves the score toward greed. This makes the FTSE 100 unusually currency-sensitive — more so than the FTSE 250 or most other large-cap equity indices.
European RS
FTSE 100 60-day total return minus Stoxx Europe 600 60-day total return, percentile-ranked over two years. When the UK outperforms broader Europe, the score moves toward greed — typically reflecting a multinationals tailwind (commodity prices, dollar strength, defensive demand). When the UK lags, growth-oriented continental names are leading and the score moves toward fear. The Stoxx 600 contains ~22% UK weighting, which reduces signal magnitude slightly but preserves direction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FTSE Fear & Greed Index?
Where does the data come from?
How is the score calculated?
How often is it updated?
Is there a public API?
/api/?action=ftse (current score), /api/?action=ftse-history (full daily history as JSON), and /api/?action=ftse-history.csv (same as CSV). All responses include CORS headers so you can fetch them directly from a browser. Full reference is at /api-docs.