Financial markets offer traders many tools to trade and profit from. These include world major market indices.
Let us see what are indices in trading first. Basically, stock indices show the total value of a certain list of shares. With their help, experts analyze the overall market situation. The indices demonstrate it in the most obvious way. In case you are still not sure why choose index trading, you should know that indices are predictable enough to enhance any trading portfolio.
The index is an indicator of shares of companies grouped on a certain principle:
By nationality: e.g. the German DAX 30 index.
By sector of the economy: for example, NASDAQ, which includes stocks of companies in the technological field.
For example, if the NASDAQ quotes are moving down, it means that the total value of the shares of the companies included in this index is going down. The opposite situation shows the growth of companies in the technology sector.
The drop in the index does not mean that all of the stocks that make up the index are moving downwards in sync. To assess the stock market situation, it is important to know the average value - some stocks may become cheaper, while others may become more expensive at the same time.
The stock index itself, as such, cannot be an object for purchase or sale as it represents only the aggregate price of the shares of its constituent companies and has no other material basis. However, this does not prevent traders from earning from price fluctuations of world major market indices.
Trading stock indices can be very attractive for a trader because the index, in its essence, is a widely diversified financial instrument. In other words, it shows the state of affairs in the industry as a whole and does not depend much on the share price of a single company that is a part of it. When investing in the index, one can completely abandon such notions as analysis of financial indicators of a single company, fully focusing on the situation in the industry as a whole.
Which popular indices to trade
Nowadays, there are more than two thousand different stock indices in circulation. But among them, there are several most popular indicators - FTSE 100, S&P's 500, NASDAQ, Nikkei, DAX 30, Dow Jones.
FTSE 100. This index describes the state of the UK stock market. It is one of the most important indicators in Europe. It is based on 100 liquid shares, which are listed on the LSE London Stock Exchange. It has been calculated since 1984.
Standard & Poor's 500. This indicator is often called a barometer. As the name says, the definition of this exchange indicator is traditionally carried out by the US rating agency Standard & Poor's. It takes into account changes in the market value of the securities of 500 U.S. corporations, which are listed on two major U.S. stock exchanges - NYSE and NASDAQ.
The most popular in the family of NASDAQ stock indicators are the exchange indicators NASDAQ 100 together with NASDAQ Composite. The NASDAQ exchange, which, together with AMEX and NYSE, belongs to the major U.S. stock exchanges, appeared in early 1971 and is aimed at trading in securities of firms specializing in high technology.
Some Japanese stock indices in Tokyo got their name because of the newspaper, which has been publishing these major indices of Japan for several decades: Nikkei 500 indicator, Nikkei 300 indicator, Nikkei All Stock Index. The most popular indicator in this family is the Nikkei 225, which shows the average weighted value of the securities of 225 firms that are represented in the first section of the stock exchange in Tokyo.
DAX 30. It is the main index of Germany. The index, which appeared in 1988, takes into account the value of 30 German companies, which are leaders in various industries: Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa, Commerzbank, Bayer AG, Allianz, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, BASF and others.
Dow Jones. This index is invariably based on the share price of 30 companies. In fact, it is equal to the average arithmetic value of securities of these largest American corporations.
The values of Dow Jones stock indices are also calculated for certain sectors of the economy: transport index DJ (for the securities of 20 industry giants), utility index DJ (for the securities of 15 companies), as well as a composite index based on the value of 65 shares, and several other stock indices.
Why choose index trading
There is only one reason for the increasing popularity of index trading, and it lies in diversification. Very often, unpredictable movements occur in the corporate market. The resignation of a board member, a scandal, negative financial statements lead to fluctuations of tens of percent within a few hours.
It is better to ensure such a drawdown with other assets in the industry. An index trader gets at once "parcels" of shares in tens and hundreds of companies.
As was already mentioned, an essential feature of indices is their high forecasting. It is much easier to work with indices than with currency, commodities, or shares. It is because, in most cases, there is a definition of some large companies, and it is much easier to predict a particular industry than to deal with all the nuances of a single business.
Among other advantages of trading major world indices futures are:
- Indices are always growing.
- They provide an opportunity to buy the state of the entire economy and stock market of the country.
- There is high liquidity of investments. Baseline indices always overlap with inflation.
- The index, unlike stocks, allows guaranteed participation in all scientific inventions and advanced technologies.
- There is a high degree of protection against market risks.
- Historically, over long periods, indices overtake the majority of different managers in the total yield.
- Investing in indices does not require serious knowledge of stock exchange operations and virtuoso management of investment portfolios.