Shares of TOTAL S.A. (LON:TTA) last traded at 50.38, representing a move of 0.64%, or 0.32 per share, on volume of 1.16 million shares. After opening the trading day at 49.98, shares of TOTAL S.A. traded in a close range. TOTAL S.A. currently has a total float of 2.58 billion shares and on average sees 1.30M shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 49.87 and high of 5677.

LSE: Europe’s Biggest Stock Exchange

Europe is undeniably a successful region, especially when it comes to economic prowess and influence. The UK economy has constantly been a major player in this success.

Not only does the UK boast with a compelling education system, a competent political structure, and a healthy tourism industry’ it also takes pride in excellent corporate governance that continues to shape its economy. Because of this, the country has one of the most competitive equity markets globally’ transforming not just Europe but the trade and commerce around the world.

In the UK, the main stock exchange is the London Stock Exchange (LSE) while the benchmark index is the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 Index.

LSE

The LSE is Europe’s biggest stock exchange and the world’s third biggest stock exchange. It boasts with roughly 2,290 companies listed on it and an overall market capitalization of ‘6.06 trillion.

Having been formed in 1801, the LSE is also one of the world’s oldest stock exchanges. The LSE is currently operated by the LSE Group (LSEG), which was formed in October 2007 after the LSE and the Borsa Italiana had merged.

The regular trading on the LSE begins at 8:00 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m.

FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 had been formed on January 3, 1984 with 1,000 points serving as a base value. It monitors the 100 biggest companies listed on the LSE based on market capitalization and with respect to free-float shares. TOTAL S.A. is a stock traded on the U.K’s stock exchange.

The FTSE 100 is currently operated by a subsidiary of the LSEG, the FTSE Group. As of September, it has an overall market capitalization of about $1.70 trillion. The FTSE 100 represents about 80% of the overall market capitalization on the LSE. TOTAL S.A. has relatively good liquidity.

While the FTSE 100 is a good indicator of the LSE, it is not a good indicator of the UK economy since it is mostly composed of international companies. On the other hand, the FTSE 250 is the best indicator of the UK economy’ thanks to its extensive nature and components that are mostly UK-based companies.

The components of the FTSE 100 are reviewed quarterly’ particularly on the first Wednesday following the first Friday of the months of March, June, September, and December. Components are regularly dropped and added in accordance to a certain set of criteria for inclusion.

The FTSE 100 had recorded an all-time low of 427.50 points in February 1978. Eventually, the FTSE had recorded an all-time high of 7,103.98 points in April 2015. Meanwhile, it has recorded its best intraday high of 7,129 points in October.

The LSE has been forged to become more powerful through all those 200 years of existence. It is definitely a pride of the European economy and the reasons behind the successful efforts of the UK to realize long-term growth prospects.

Investing on LSE stocks is an ideal move for investors nowadays. It is one of the best, and most rewarding ways to take advantage of the constant growth of the UK economy, as well as that of Europe. Professional analysts might be interested how this will affect TOTAL S.A..

TOTAL S.A. operates as an integrated gas and oil firm worldwide. The company has market cap of 130.14 billion GBP. The firm operates through three divisions: Upstream, Refining & Chemicals, and Marketing & Services. It has a 11.88 P/E ratio. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration and production activities in approximately 50 countries, and produces oil or gas in approximately 30 countries; gas activities, including purchase, sale, and shipping of liquefied natural gas ; and trading of liquefied petroleum gas.