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Popular Indices

Indices represent the average performance of a group of shares, usually the largest shares in a market ranked by capitalisation (total value).  Each index tends to track the overall performance of the bulk of the total value of that market. Here are our guides to some of the World’s most popular indices.

LSE London Stock Exchange

Trading the FTSE 100

The FTSE 100, or Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, is a stock market index representing the performance of the…

City of London

Trading the FTSE 250

The FTSE 250 index tracks the largest 250 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, after those in the FTSE 100
Wall Street

Trading the S&P 500

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, also known as the S&P 500, is one of the most popular indexes used…

Trading the Dow Jones

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, commonly just called the ‘Dow’, was historically the benchmark for US stock performance, although it…

The Bulls

Trading the NASDAQ 100

The NASDAQ 100 is the largest electronic equities trading market representing the 100 largest non-financial NASDAQ-listed stocks
EU flag

Trading the Euro Stoxx 50

Whereas the DAX and the CAC indices represent the German and French markets respectively, the EuroStoxx also includes companies outside…

Frankfurt skyscrapers

Trading the DAX

The German DAX Index is the main indicator for the performance of the price of major Germany listed companies on…

Japan

Trading the Nikkei 225

The Nikkei 225 index is still widely regarded as one of the key measures of stock market activity in Asia,…

Sydney Business District Australia

Trading the ASX 200

The ASX 200 Index follows the price of the 200 largest companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange by market…

Cliff edge

Trading the VIX

During times of extreme market volatility, you will sometimes hear traders and analysts referring to the VIX index, but what…

Popular Commodities

Commodities are the raw materials from which products are made.  Examples include precious and industrial metals such as gold and copper, agricultural products such as wheat, fuel products such as crude oil and soft commodities such as coffee. Here are our guides to some of the World’s most popular commodities.

Gold bars

Investing in Gold

Investing in Gold: Gold is generally seen as the preferred choice for investors in uncertain times as a tool for diversifying risk
silver battery metal

Investing in Silver

Investing in Silver: prices have bounced between $4 and $25 over the last decade, making it one of the most volatile metals to trade
Copper Wire

Investing in Copper

Copper is one of the first minerals that was extracted from the ground and the metal that started the Bronze…

Platinum Precious Metals Commodity

Investing in Platinum

Platinum is the most expensive commodity of all.  In 2010, when a tonne of copper cost almost US$10,000, a tonne…

Oil sector

Investing in Crude Oil

Crude Oil is the world’s most heavily traded commodity. The volumes of trade in oil that flow daily through commodities…

Natural Gas

Investing in Natural Gas

Investing in Natural Gas: colourless, odourless and consisting mostly of methane, it is a favourite energy market for online traders
Wheat

Investing in Wheat

As the world population grows so does consumption of wheat.  Demand has leapt as emerging countries such as China and…

Sugar

Investing in Sugar

About two thirds of the world's sugar production is grown from sugar cane, a plant which loves the warm weather…

Coffee beans

Investing in Coffee

Investing in Coffee: The coffee bean is bought and sold by roasters, investors and speculators on commodities exchanges across the globe
Cocoa

Investing in Cocoa

Invest in Cocoa and grow your portfolio, learn about its production and big buyers like Nestle, Hershey's and Cadbury
Popular Currencies

The most traded currencies in the world account for US$1.5 trillion changing hands every day. While nearly everybody has had occasion to change money when they travel abroad, forex traders can be dealing in international currency markets every day. Traditionally a marketplace for big banks and fund managers, now it is becoming increasingly accessible for private investors.

Here are our guides to some of the World’s most popular currencies.

GBP Pound Coin

Trading the British Pound

The British Pound or GBP, also widely known as Sterling, is the fourth most traded currency in FX markets, after…

US Dollar currency

Trading the US Dollar

The US dollar or ‘greenback’ remains the de facto reserve currency of the world, despite the trials and tribulations of…

Euro currency

Trading the Euro

After the US dollar, the euro currency (EUR) is the most widely traded foreign currency, and the EUR/USD currency pair…

Coins

Trading the Japanese Yen

The Japanese Yen is the most widely traded Asian currency, even though the Chinese economy is now technically larger than…

Coins

Trading the Canadian Dollar

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is also known by veteran traders as the Loonie because of the aquatic bird on the…

Coins

Trading the New Zealand Dollar

The New Zealand Dollar is often referred to by currency traders as the Kiwi.  Trading the New Zealand Dollar (NZD)…

Coins

Trading the Hong Kong Dollar

The Hong Kong Dollar has survived the territory’s return to China in 1997 and remains one of the top 10…

Coins

Trading the Swiss Franc

The Swiss Franc (SFR) has long been considered a currency for institutional investors to buy when they need to get…

Coins

Trading the Australian Dollar

Australia is a major producer of raw materials, particularly base metals, and as such its currency has been boosted by…

Popular Government Bonds

When governments want to borrow money from the capital markets, they issue bonds, also called government debt. These are IOUs from the government to the market: the government promises to pay investors their full principal in addition to a rate of interest on the bond that is determined when it is auctioned, e.g. 5.5%. Here are our guides to some of the most popular government bonds.

Bank of England

Investing in UK 10 Year Gilts

UK government bonds are often referred to as ‘gilts’, reflecting the historical levels of confidence in the UK economy. While…

US Federal Reserve

US 10 Year Treasury Notes

The US 10-Year Treasury Note (ZB) is a debt security (or government bond)  issued by the United States government with…

ECB

Investing in the Euro Bobl

The Euro Bobl is a medium term bond issued by the Federal Republic of Germany. Bobl is an abbreviation of…

Bank Of Japan

Investing in JGBs – Japanese Government Bonds

Japanese Government Bonds or JGBs are the most popular market for government debt traders in Asia. The 10 year bond…

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