Market Guides
Product by product guides to trading currencies, indices, commodities, shares and fixed income.
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Dow Jones (US30): How It Is Calculated
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, usually shortened to the Dow and listed by brokers as US30, tracks 30 large US companies. Unlike most modern indices it is price weighted: the...
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DAX 40 (DE40): Germany's Stock Index
The DAX 40 is Germany’s main stock index, tracking the 40 largest companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It expanded from 30 to 40 members in September 2021. Unlike...
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FTSE 100 (UK100): What Moves the Index
The FTSE 100 tracks the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is often described as a UK index, but around three quarters of its members’ revenue...
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Nikkei 225 (JP225): What Moves It
The Nikkei 225 tracks 225 large companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Like the Dow, it is price weighted, so a few companies with very high share prices carry...
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S&P 500 vs Nasdaq 100 vs Dow Jones
The S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are the three most followed US stock indices. They share many of the same companies but are built...
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Cash vs Futures Index CFDs
An index CFD can be priced in two ways. A cash, or spot, index CFD follows the current level of the index, has no expiry and is charged overnight financing...
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Bitcoin CFDs: BTCUSD Explained
BTCUSD is the price of one bitcoin in US dollars. A bitcoin CFD lets you trade that price, up or down, without owning any bitcoin, opening an exchange account or...
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Ethereum CFDs vs Bitcoin CFDs
ETHUSD is the price of ether, the currency of the Ethereum network, in US dollars. Bitcoin is designed mainly as a scarce store of value; Ethereum is a platform for...
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Crypto CFDs vs Buying Crypto
There are two ways to get exposure to bitcoin or ether. Buying the coin means you own it: you hold it on an exchange or in your own wallet, you...
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Stock CFDs and Earnings Season
Four times a year US companies publish their quarterly results, and for a few weeks their share prices move more than at any other time. Most large companies report outside...
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What Is Cryptocurrency CFD Trading?
Cryptocurrency CFD trading explained: how it differs from buying coins, why volatility changes everything about position sizing, weekend liquidity, the crypto-specific risks that override macro, and how crypto CFDs work...
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What Is Fixed Income? A Guide to Bonds and Yields
Fixed income explained: what a bond is, why price and yield move inversely, what duration means, how government and corporate bonds differ, and why bond markets set the reference rate...