The FT 30 is a now rarely used index

Stock market index

A stock market index is a method of measuring a section of the stock market. Many indices are cited by news or financial services firms and are used as benchmarks, to measure the performance of portfolios such as mutual funds....

 that is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...

. It has since been superseded by the FTSE 100

FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....

, introduced in 1984.

The index was devised in 1935 by Maurice Green

Maurice Green (journalist)

Maurice Green was a British journalist and newspaper editor.Born in Padiham, Green attended Rugby School and University College, Oxford, gaining a half-blue in chess, before becoming a journalist on the Financial News. He quickly made an impact, and was appointed editor in 1934...

 and Otto Clarke of the Financial News and was termed the "Financial News 30-share index" until that paper merged with the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

in 1945.

The companies listed in the index are made up of those in the Industrial and Commercial sectors and exclude financial sector (banks, insurance, etc.) and government stocks.