Choose from the world’s most active indices which feature interesting and exciting stocks. Indices are a popular instrument because they are generally considered to average out volatility because they quote the price of multiple stocks.
Over a dozen different Indices to trade.
Each market has its own variables, opening hours and level of mobility. Choose the best market for you or trade on multiple markets. Fomos Capital gives you access to trade globally.
Fixed spreads, negative balance protection, free guarantee stop loss and take profit means you will experience exceptional, industry leading trading and conditions.
Want to make a bigger trade than usual, but you’re afraid the market might move against you? Well for a small fee you can protect your trade with dealCancellation*.
Fomos Capital Trading App allows you to trade on any device anywhere you have an internet connection. Set up price notification so you know exactly what the market is doing.
| Indices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Product | Open | Close | Daily Break | |||
US 500 | SPI | 22:00 | Sunday | 21:00 | Friday | 21:00 – 22:00 |
US 30 | DOW | 22:00 | Sunday | 21:00 | Friday | 21:00 – 22:00 |
US Tech | NDQ | 22:00 | Sunday | 21:00 | Friday | 21:00 – 22:00 |
UK 100 | FTS | 00:00 | Weekdays | 20:00 | Weekdays | |
Germany 40 | DAX | 00:30 | Weekdays | 20:00 | Weekdays | |
EU Stocks 50 | ESX | 00:15 | Weekdays | 20:00 | Weekdays | |
Swiss 20 | SWI | 06:00 | Weekdays | 20:00 | Weekdays | |
Australia | ASX | 23:50 | Sunday | 21:00 | Friday | 06:30 – 07:10 and 21:00 – 23:50 |
Japan 225 | NKI | 22:00 | Sunday | 21:00 | Friday | 21:00 -22:00 |
Hong Kong 50 | HSX | 01:15 | Weekdays | 19:00 | Weekdays | 04:00 – 05:00 and 08:30 – 09:15 |
China 50 | CNX | 01:00 | Weekdays | 20:45 | Weekdays | 08:30 – 09:00 |
India 50 | IND | 01:00 | Weekdays | 20:45 | Weekdays | 10:10 – 10:45 |
USD Index | USX | 22:00 | Sunday / 00:00 Tuesday-Friday | 20:55 | Weekdays | |
What is indices trading or stock index trading? Essentially you will be trading on what is called a “basket of stocks” or a combination of stocks. The great thing is that you don’t even have to own the stocks to be able to trade them. Some indices follow a certain category of stock – for example the Nasdaq is composed of non-financial companies – Apple, Amazon, Alphabet Class A (Google), Intel and more.
Why would you trade indices though compared to individual stocks?
The most obvious benefit is diversity and most financial advisors recommend this as a risk management strategy. Volatility is averaged out amongst the various companies, whereas if you are invested in just one, your entire investment is exposed to the volatility of just one company’s stock.
Another benefit, especially if you are investing in indices in different locations, is the ability to trade around the clock. This can be very helpful if you trade during certain hours, and another benefit is if something happens in one-time zone, it has the potential to effect the next market opening.
Another reason is stock markets are usually positively correlated to the health of an economy. If a country’s economy is up, so is its stock market – there are instruments though that move inversely to the health of an economy.
Safe haven currencies and precious metals usually move against the health of an economy, as investors flock to them to keep their assets safe during market volatility.
So how do you choose which index is best for you?
Although we can’t give investing advice , one thing holds true no matter what you trade: knowledge is power. Choosing an extremely popular index such the S&P500 or the Nikkei means you will have a deep well of information available to you, because not only will you have the primarily source reporting on the performance of the index but most other major financial publications report on them also.
Also many of the popular indices are generally composed of popular company stock, which are more likely to be regularly reported on.
The reason they are popular is because many of these indices include (or are completely composed of) blue-chip stock. Blue-chip can be defined different ways but generally it’s a well-established company with a market cap in the billions (the value of its outstanding shares x the value of a single stock) considered a market leader.
Indices are useful because they help investors gauge the general state of a country’s economy. Investors in the US, for example, may look to indices like the S&P 500 to gain an understanding of how the US economy is performing. Likewise, UK investors may look to the FTSE 100 and German investors may look to the DAX 30.
You can’t invest in indices directly, but you can go short or long on an index through a CFD product.
To short an index means to sell the product in the anticipation that the price will fall.
To go long on an index means to buy the product in the anticipation that the price will rise.
The great benefit of shorting or longing CFD indices is that you can trade on the price movements in either direction.
If you’re also a more risk-averse trader, then index trading can be a good option for you. Stock index CFDs usually experience smaller price fluctuations compared to individual shares, for example. This is because indices are more diversified, which leaves you less exposed to individual company risks.
A price movement in an index results from the price movements of the companies within it.
Various factors can cause price movements, including economic data, geopolitical events, and market sentiment. Usually, when investors are bullish, there will be more buyers than sellers, leading to an increase in stock prices. However, when investors are bearish, it usually results in more sellers than buyers, which will lead to stock prices falling.
Simply put, if more stocks within an index are declining in price, the value of an index will drop. Conversely, if more stocks are rising in price, it will cause an index to jump in value.
There is no one set way to calculate the value of an index. However, most indices either use a price-weighted or value-weighted formula. To understand how they differ, let’s look at them both more closely.
To calculate the index trading price, each company is weighted according to its share price. As price is the determining factor, the larger priced stocks have more of an impact on how an index performs than lower priced stocks.
The most notable index which follows a price-weight formula is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), an index that comprises the 30 largest companies in the US. The value is calculated by taking the average price of all 30 securities and dividing the figure by a divisor.
To further understand how weighting is determined, let’s look at an example:
If Apple’s stock went from $135 to $145, because it commands a higher price valuation, it would move the Dow Jones index more than, say, Intel’s stock going from $60 to $70, as higher prices are more significant than percentage movements.
Many of the significant indices like the S&P 500, NASDAQ and Russell 2000 are value-weighted. In this type of index, each company’s weighting is based on its market capitalization.
The following formula is used to calculate the weighting:
The stock price x the number of shares outstanding / market capitalization of all shares
Here is a brief example of how value-weighting works:
If Apple has 17.5 billion shares outstanding and trades at $135, then its weight in the value-weighted index is $2.36 trillion. But if Tesla is trading at $730, and has only 960 million shares outstanding, its weight is $700 billion. Although Tesla trades at a higher price, Apple has a stronger weight in an index due to the company having a larger market capitalization.
Create an account and log in
If you don’t have an account with us, you can create an account here. After you successfully create an account, go ahead and log in.
Select the index you want to trade
We have 15 different indices to trade from, including popular options such as the S&P 500, DOW Jones, FTSE 100, and the DAX 30.
Decide whether to go long or short
After you’ve selected an index you wish to trade, you’ll need to decide whether you want to open a long or short position.
Set your stops and limits
To mitigate the potential risk of losses, always ensure you have stop and limit orders in place before executing a position.
Open and monitor your trade
After you open your trade, it’s important to monitor your positions frequently to evaluate the performance.
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