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6 Asset Classes - 10 Trading Platforms - Over 1000 Instruments.
Trade Forex, Individual Stocks, Commodities, Precious Metals, Energies, Equity and Thematic Indices at XM.

Equity Indices – Spreads / Conditions

* Swap rates are calculated based on the Index Currency’s relevant interbank rate. Long positions are charged with the relevant interbank rate plus a mark-up and short positions receive the rate minus a mark-up. The operation is conducted at 00:00 (GMT+2 time zone, please note DST may apply) and can take several minutes. For positions held open at the close of trading on Friday, swap is charged for 3 days.

** Min. level for placing pending orders at a current market price.

The margin requirement for CFDs is calculated like this : Lots * Contract Size * Opening Price * Margin Percentage and not based on the leverage of your trading account.

** Min. level for placing pending orders at a current market price.

The margin requirement for CFDs is calculated like this : Lots * Contract Size * Opening Price * Margin Percentage and not based on the leverage of your trading account.

Please note that our Company does not offer automatic rollover for new contracts of financial instruments that have an expiration date.

Please note that our Company does not offer automatic rollover for new contracts of financial instruments that have an expiration date.

Description Symbol Available Contract Open Date* Close Only Date* Expiry Date* Contract Months Contract Expirations**
Japan 225 JP225 Mar 2024-12-11 2025-03-12 2025-03-13 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
Switzerland 20 SWI20 Mar 2024-12-18 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
UK 100 UK100 Mar 2024-12-18 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
US 500 US500 Mar 2024-12-19 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
VIX, Volatility Index Futures (S&P500) VIX Jan 2024-12-16 2025-01-21 2025-01-22 Monthly Contract Expirations**
EU Stocks 50 EU50 Mar 2024-12-18 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
France 40 FRA40 Jan 2024-12-18 2025-01-20 2025-01-21 Monthly Contract Expirations**
Germany 40 GER40 Mar 2024-12-18 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
US Tech 100 US100 Mar 2024-12-19 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
Wall Street 30 US30 Mar 2024-12-19 2025-03-20 2025-03-21 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**
US Dollar Index USDX Mar 2024-12-12 2025-03-14 2025-03-15 MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC Contract Expirations**

*The Close Only and Expiry Dates may change as we get closer to the actual date. This is due to the rules set by our liquidity providers governing futures contract rolling, and is based on the liquidity of both the active contract and the next to expire. The business day following the Open Date of the new instrument is the Expiry Date of the previous contract.

**The Expiry Date will vary each month and is based on our liquidity providers’ rolling schedules and the liquidity of the contracts.

Please note that our Company does not offer automatic rollover for new contracts of financial instruments that have an expiration date.

Dividend Adjustments on Cash Indices

CFDs on Cash Indices are subject to dividend adjustments.

When an index constituent pays dividends to its shareholders it is essentially reducing the value of the company by the amount of the dividend.

This is reflected on the ex-dividend date as a decrease of the company share price, as well as in a decrease in the value of the index in proportion to the weight of the stock within the index.

To ensure no impact on positions, dividend adjustments will be made to the accounts of clients holding a position on the index at 00:00 (GMT+2 time zone, please note DST may apply) on the ex-dividend date.

The dividend adjustment is made before the market open on the ex-dividend date (market hours can be found above).

Dividend adjustments on long positions are credited to your account after deducting any applicable withholding taxes. The amount deducted may vary depending on the underlying financial instrument. The withholding tax deduction does not apply to short positions.

Exceptions exist among CFDs on equity indices, including GER40Cash, GerMid50Cash, and GerTech30Cash. These instruments are not subject to dividend adjustments because the dividends paid by their constituent stocks are reinvested in the index itself. Thus, no downward adjustment occurs when a constituent pays a dividend.

CFDs on Future Indices are also not subject to dividend adjustments.

Buy trades will receive an amount calculated as follows:

Dividend adjustment = Index Dividend declared x position size in Lots

Sell trades will be charged an amount calculated as follows:

Dividend adjustment = Index Dividend declared x position size in Lots

Index Dividends

The symbols shown are only the symbols (instruments) expected to pay dividends this week. Dividend figures represent the expectations of our liquidity providers and are subject to change.

About Equity Indices Trading

Equity indices, or stock indices as they are also commonly known, are actual stock market indexes, which measure the value of a specific section of a stock market. They are calculated based on a weighted average of the prices of selected stocks, which belong to the actual category that they represent. Stock indices can represent a specific stock market such as NASDAQ, or they can represent a specific set of the largest companies of a nation such as the American S&P 500, the British FTSE 100, or the Japanese Nikkei 225.

The purpose of the indices is to show the general direction of a specific stock market or of the general economy of a nation. However, since stock indices are composed of a basket of companies they can be very much affected by a big move of a specific company or by a big move of a specific sector of trade.

The actual weight given to a stock index from the underlying basket of stocks varies amongst the various indices, which means that not all use the same criteria to derive the end result. The two main ways to calculate the actual weight a specific underlying stock produces to the index itself is price weighting and capitalization weighting.

Below you can see the category which some of the very popular indices belong to:

  • 1. Dow Jones (US30) and Nikkei 225 (Japan225) are price weighted indices.
  • 2. FTSE 100 (UK 100), ASX200 (Australia 200), Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong 50, DAX (Germany 30), CAC 40 (France 40) and IBEX35 (Spain 35) are some of the main stock indices which are capitalization weighted.

Equity Indices – Who is Who?

S&P 500 (US500): The S&P500 (US500) stock market index was introduced by the American financial services company Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC in 1957. It is a leading indicator of US equities, and as one of the most frequently used benchmarks for the US stock market on the whole, it covers about 75% of the American equity market by capitalization.

ASX200 (Australia200): The ASX 200 (AUS200) index is a market-capitalization weighted stock market index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, which belongs to the world’s top 15 exchange groups with an average daily turnover of $4.685 billion. The index exclusively includes stocks listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Nikkei 225 (JP225): The Nikkei 225 (JP225), commonly known as Nikkei, is a stock index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the world’s third largest stock exchange with a market capitalization of US$4.09 trillion.

GerMid50Cash: The GerMid50Cash (calculated by Borse Frankfurt) captures the performance of the 50 largest companies by market capitalization below the DAX stocks.

GerTech30Cash: The GerTech30Cash Index (calculated by Borse Frankfurt) captures the performance of the 30 technology companies in the Prime Standard segment that rank directly below the DAX shares in terms of size (market capitalisation and trading volume).

TaiwanCash: The TaiwanCash Index captures the performance of Taiwan large and mid-capitalization stocks with extensive exposure within the Information Technology, Financials and Industrials industries.

HSI (HK50): The HIS (HK50), Hang Seng Index, is a market capitalization-weighted stock market index that has been used since 1969 to record the daily changes of the 50 largest companies present at Asia’s second (and the world’s sixth) largest stock exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Market (HKEx).

FTSE 100 (UK100): The FTSE 100 (UK100) stock index stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, encompassing the 100 companies with the highest market capitalization listed on the London Stock Exchange.

NASDAQ 100 (US100): The main NASDAQ index is the NASDAQ Composite, with its subset NASDAQ 100 (US100) that consists of 107 equity securities issued by the 107 most powerful non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

DJIA (US30): DJIA (US30), the second oldest stock market index in the United States after the Dow Jones Transportation Average, shows the performance of 30 major American companies during a standard trading session in the stock market. It is calculated by the DJIA Divisor by dividing the total sum of all prices of all 30 stocks that it represents.

DAX (GER40): DAX (GER40), which stands for Deutscher Aktienindex, is the principal German stock market index representative of the 40 major companies that trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is considered to be a blue chip index in terms of quality and profitability

CAC 40 (FRA40): The French benchmark stock market index CAC 40 (FRA40) stands for Cotation Assistée en Continu, and it represents the top 40 values of the 100 highest market-capitalization company stocks traded on the French securities market Euronext Paris, the second largest exchange in Europe.

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What are Equity Indices (Stock Indices)?

Equity indices, or stock indices, are in simple language indexes that represent the overall price of a basket of underlying stocks.

The major equity indices (stock indices of the world) include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • 1. S&P 500
  • 2. Dow Jones
  • 3. Nasdaq
  • 4. FTSE100
  • 5. Nikkei225
  • 6. DAX
  • 7. CAC40
  • 8. Euro Stoxx 50
  • 9. ASX200

Stock indices are in most cases a representation of the overall picture of the stock market, which their basket belongs to. In most cases, the underlying stocks that belong to a stock index consist of the most influential (largest capitalization) companies.

How Does Equity Indices Trading Work?

During any trading day, stock prices of specific companies will go up or down. Since a stock index is a compilation of a basket of underlying stocks, its actual price will move up or down based on the overall dynamics (mathematical and statistical formula) of which each stock price contributes to its final price.

The following are useful points to understand when trading equity indices:

  • 1. All the stocks in a specific equity index (e.g. Dow Jones) are subject to a selection process and might be substituted by another company if their overall trading performance is overcome from a newcomer. In other words, the companies that belong to a basket are not guaranteed to be always the same.
  • 2. The determination of the influence of a specific stock to the overall stock index includes calculations and rules. Not all stocks that add up to the basket are treated as equal. In simple words, the overall price of stock index is not a simple addition of the prices of the stocks and a division by the number of stocks.
  • 3. A stock index shows the general consensus and can be considered a benchmark of performance of the overall stock market with historical value.
  • 4. As mentioned in point 2, since not all stocks that belong to the basket are treated as equal, more weight is given to the index from companies with larger capitalization. This means that if the stock of a specific large company falls for any reason, the overall index will follow it even though the rest of the stocks in the basket might not be falling.
  • 5. As mentioned in point 1, the underlying stocks that belong to the basket, which is called an index, change over time. Over a historical period, the index itself does not always represent the same basket of stocks.

Risk Warning: Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone. Please consider our Risk Disclosure.