Indices

A stock index tracks a basket of shares that stands in for a whole market. Trading an index CFD gives exposure to that basket in one position instead of buying every company. StoicMarkets lists the world's benchmarks. They include the US 500 and US 30 from Wall Street, the US 100 for large technology names, Germany's DAX 40, the UK's FTSE 100, Japan's Nikkei 225, the Euro Stoxx 50, France's CAC 40 and Australia's ASX 200. Each one bundles dozens or hundreds of companies into a single tradable price.

An index moves on the combined fortunes of its members, so broad forces dominate. Central bank rates, growth data and overall risk appetite push whole markets together. Composition still matters. The US 100 is weighted heavily toward a handful of mega-cap technology companies, so its direction leans on their earnings and on the outlook for chips and artificial intelligence. The FTSE 100 carries a large share of energy and mining names, which ties it to commodity prices. Currency matters too, since a weaker home currency can lift an export-heavy index like the DAX 40 or the Nikkei 225. Earnings seasons pack a lot of movement into a few weeks.

StoicMarkets quotes indices as cash CFDs that follow the underlying index level. Each index is most active while its home exchange is open, though the US index CFDs keep trading well beyond Wall Street's cash hours and react to news overnight. Indices carry leverage up to 1:100 on our server, set per symbol. A gap between one session's close and the next open is common after major news, so an overnight position carries that risk. Index CFDs also pay or charge a dividend adjustment when their constituent companies go ex-dividend, spread across the basket. Index CFDs are leveraged products, and losses can build faster than on the underlying shares.