Reading the shares pages ?????!!!!

[glorybee]

Can anyone put me out of my misery and explain what those columns of figures mean in the newspapers? Or is it top secret? I'm sure that for example : Admiral close at 671 means something. But what exactly? £6.71? % change -OK I think I understand a positive figure means that its good - Mkt cap & yield I have no clue. Then there is for example - FTSE 100 close 5,903.40 is that ££'ss? what is it compared to? What do I do with this figure and how can I know what 5,903.40 actually is or means?? Help please!

well, it's all done in pence, so 671 is indeed £6.71, market cap is how many shares they've issued x the current price (ie what it would cost to buy the whole lot if you like). yield relates to the dividend but I'm a bit hazy as to what exactly it's a percentage of - probably the face value of the shares - so a dividend of 10p in the pound would be a yield of 10% on a £1 share - but lots of shares are 25p shares, the price you pay for them is to do with supply and demand in the market. I so shouldn't have had a large G&T before attempting this... has this been any help?
The FTSE score 5000 whatever is to do with the total value of the top 100 companies and gives you a good idea which way the market is moving overall.
I think I'll shut up and wait for someone clever to come along

OK this is a start for me! Do you know how many years I've been meaning to interpret those figures? I will get it sooner or later....after a few glasses of wine!

This book is pretty good actually.

Also this article might be helpful.