Capture entire market movements in a single position

Indices measure the price movement of a selected group of assets, typically stocks, but they can also include bonds or commodities. They provide an overall view of how a market, sector or economy is performing, making them a key benchmark for traders.

Indices are generally constructed using one of the following approaches: Market-capitalization weighted: Companies with higher market value have a larger effect on the index movement. Examples: S&P 500, FTSE 100. Price-weighted: Stocks with a higher share price carry more influence regardless of company size. Examples: Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nikkei 225.

No. Index values cannot be bought or sold directly because they are only measurements. Traders gain exposure through financial instruments such as CFDs, futures, ETFs or index funds, which replicate or speculate on index price movements.

Index prices react to broad economic and market conditions, including: Economic data and central bank decisions Earnings results from index-listed companies Interest rate changes and geopolitical events Adjustments to the index’s constituent list

Widely traded global indices include: S&P 500 (US 500) Dow Jones (Wall Street) NASDAQ 100 (US Tech 100) FTSE 100 (UK 100) DAX 40 (Germany 40) Nikkei 225 (Japan 225)

Trading hours depend on the exchange of each index. Through products like CFDs and futures, many indices are available nearly 24 hours, five days a week.