Markets
Learn about the most popular financial markets, what influences their price movements and the options available for you to trade them.
CommoditiesCommodities markets represent the prices of raw materials that are regularly consumed by people and industries around the world. They respond to supply and demand factors. Traders can now access a very broad range of commodities through online accounts, although gold and oil remain the most popular. Metals: Softs: Energy: |
IndexesIndexes represent the average performance of a group of shares, usually the largest shares in a market ranked by capitalisation (total value). The index will tend to track the overall performance of the bulk of the total value of that market. Products based on indexes, like spread bets, CFDs or ETFs (exchange traded funds) represent a good way for traders to proxy an entire market without having to buy individual shares. Choose from the list of indexes: |
CurrenciesGlobal currency markets are the largest and most liquid financial market there is. Currencies - also known as ‘forex’ or FX - are priced in relation to each other as currency ‘pairs’. Most traders focus on only five or six of the leading currencies at the most. FX markets can be traded around the clock, as prices are determined by trading between big banks and fund managers. There is no central ‘currency’ exchange. Choose from the list of currencies: |
Bonds & RatesMost traders focus on the prices of major benchmark government bonds. This is the debt issued at regular intervals by the governments of leading economies, often seen as the safest borrowers in the open market. Traders do not buy actual bonds: they simply trade the prices of futures based on those bond markets. Rates markets represent interbank borrowing rates, usually based on loans made in certain key currencies like the US dollar or euro. Rates traders are looking to profit from small changes in the rates charged on these loans and deposits. Choose from the list of bonds & rates: |
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