Indices

Enhance trading diversity with EC Markets via global indices: Dow Jones, Nikkei, Hang Seng.

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Indices Trading Conditions

Symbol Minimum Spread Average Spread Pip Value Min price movement Contract Value
Symbol Minimum Spread Average Spread Pip Value Min price movement Contract Value
Symbol Minimum Spread Average Spread Pip Value Min price movement Contract Value

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by Trading Indices

A stock market index is a measurement of the performance of a collection of many stocks, and is generally based around a single sector or country. For example, the S&P 500 tracks some of the largest companies in the US and is seen as an indicator for general US economic health. The Nasdaq-100, on the other hand, tracks one hundred of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and is often used as an indicator of the US tech industry.


As these indices pool the overall performance of many companies,
the risks associated with any single company are avoided, with prices
instead moving based on the macro-level trends.



Index CFDs, which are offered by EC Markets, enable traders to speculate on price movements in various indices without needing to own all of the stocks in an index. Additionally, CFDs use leverage, which boosts both profits and losses, empowering a more versatile trading strategy suited to each trader. Explore market opportunities today with EC Markets’ indices CFDs!

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Why Trade Indices With EC Markets

Trade the Whole
Market

Indices represent the movement
of entire markets, lowering risks
associated with individual stocks.

Target Various Sectors
and Countries

Indices are generally focused on
specific industries and
countries, giving traders the
ability to accurately target
promising markets.

Make Educated
Trading Decisions

Indices experience high liquidity,
which creates tight spreads and
makes entering and exiting the
market easy and quick.

Enhanced Liquidity
Facilitates Swift Trades

High trading volumes ensure
narrow spreads, permitting
efficient executions and
significantly reducing slippage
for participants.

Indices FAQ

Stock market indices (like S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100) are groups of stocks that focus on the economy of a particular industry or country. Instead of buying individual shares, which are subject to significant idiosyncratic risk, trading indices involves using CFDs (Contracts for Difference) to speculate on movements of entire industries and countries, enabling traders to profit from large macroeconomic and industry trends.

To trade indices a trader needs to have an account with a broker that can offer them access to CFDs on the stock market indices that the trader wants to participate in. The trader can then buy or sell based on their speculation of which direction the market will take.

Although there is no single best index to trade, there are several indices that are more popular amongst traders. The top indices are the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the FTSE, and DAX 40.

As indices are simply the weighted average prices of a pool of individual stocks, the market value of a stock market index is fundamentally determined by the stocks that comprise it. These stocks themselves are affected by the forces of supply and demand as traders buy and sell individual stocks. As these individual stock prices move, so too does the price of the index. The key difference between the movement of prices of individual stocks and that of an index is that indices are diversified and as such lower idiosyncratic risk, which is the risk associated with a single company. An individual stock price is highly affected by events specific to its company, but has less effect on an index that it is in due to being a small part of the entire index. For this reason, index prices move with industry-level trends (for industry specific indices) and macroeconomic trends (for country specific indices).

When trading indices, idiosyncratic risk, which is risk specific to a single company, is largely diversified away. This means that movements in prices of indices follow industry-level trends (for industry-focused indices) or macroeconomic-level trends (for country-focused indices). As such, indices are more predictable, experience less volatility, and fewer gaps, than individual stocks and can be more easily capitalised on by traders.

Yes, trading indices is often a good choice for beginners due to the lower risk, higher liquidity, less volatility, and more predictability of the markets. Additionally information regarding the performance and expected performance of indices is widely available, making it straightforward for new traders to find actionable information.

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Latest Insights

Indices

27 Oct 2025

Energy and Earnings Fuel Global Rally | Weekly Recap: 20-24 October 2025

The week was dominated by political uncertainty and mixed data across economies. In the US, a partial government shutdown dragged on into its third week, delaying many economic releases. Lawmakers hinted at possible resolution, but no breakthrough emerged before the weekend.

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Indices

20 Oct 2025

Banks Slip as Gold and Bonds Rally | Weekly Recap: 13-17 Oct 2025

US markets opened the week in limbo as the government shutdown entered its third week, freezing major data releases. Fed officials stepped into the void, reinforcing a gradual easing bias. Core inflation remains sticky: US core PCE inflation ran about 2.9% year-on-year in August. With the shutdown delaying US CPI (now shifted to late October) markets clung to Fed signals.

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Indices

14 Oct 2025

From Tightening to Easing: What Happens to Global Equities After the First Cut?

After two years of rapid interest rate hikes, central banks are finally shifting gears. In 2025, ECB has already slashed its benchmark rate from nearly 4% down to about 2%. The US Fed is also stepping off the brake, delivering its first 0.25% rate cut from a much higher peak and indicating more to come by the end of the year. Not to forget, even BoE has begun trimming rates.

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Indices

13 Oct 2025

Fed Signals Easing as Trade Tensions Return | Weekly Recap: 6-10 Oct 2025

Markets entered October balancing two competing forces – a Federal Reserve that sounded increasingly open to further easing, and a sudden revival of trade tensions between the world’s largest economies.

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Indices

06 Oct 2025

Q3 2025 – Global Market Update & Outlook

In Q3 markets pivoted sharply on policy divergence. The Fed signalled an imminent easing cycle, while many governments moved toward fiscal restraint. Growth and employment weakened enough in the US to prompt a late-September rate cut, even as fiscal policy pulled back.

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