The companies - Bookham Technology PLC, Hanson PLC and Ocean Group PLC - look likely to oust Baltimore Technologies PLC, Thus PLC and Kingston Communications PLC, when the FTSE Equity Indices Committee meets to approve the quarterly changes to the UK series of the FTSE Actuaries Share Indices.
The historic meeting, being held in Paris, is the first to be staged outside the United Kingdom and reflects FTSE's commitment to serving the global financial markets.
Tomorrow's quarterly review meeting comes just three months after one of the biggest shake-ups ever recorded in the FTSE 100, which saw nine primarily new technology stocks enter the index. The changes reflected a surge in the market value of firms operating in the TMT (technology, media and telecomms) sectors.
According to Mark Makepeace, FTSE Managing Director, tomorrow's changes are likely to reflect recent market activity which has led to a small decline in the market value of some TMT stocks.
"The key point to remember is that the FTSE 100 index exists to reflect changes in the UK market - which stocks are included is ultimately decided by investors as they determine the value of a company through their investment decisions.
"The purpose of the FTSE 100 is not to dictate to the market, but simply to reflect what is already happening. That means if the FTSE 100 is displaying signs of volatility, the index is doing its job and accurately reflecting the presence of volatility in the market.
"The quarterly changes announced in March this year reflected the market's then strong backing for TMT stocks, which resulted in a number of traditional companies falling out of the FTSE 100. The fact a number of these stocks have themselves fallen back out of the index merely reflects recent market activity and a decline in the valuation placed on a number of TMT stocks."
The fall of Baltimore and Thus - two companies added to the FTSE 100 at the last quarterly review - are indicative of market uncertainty surrounding technology stocks, while "old economy" building and construction company Hanson makes its way back in. The freight management company Ocean Group and a IT hardware company called Bookham Technology will be new additions to the FTSE 100.
The FTSE Equity Indices Committee is fully independent and is made up of independent practitioners working in the financial markets. All committee decisions are based on established ground-rules, which are predictable, fully transparent and available to all interested parties.
All amendments to the rules can be viewed on the FTSE web-site at www.ftse.com
