Trade Indices with Forex Bit Options

Indices in their most traded format are portfolios of stocks that have been merged into one tradable entity. The index value, calculated from the weighted average of its component stocks, gives a good indication of the market direction of the country or market sector that its component stocks are related to. This is why investors typically refer to "trading the markets" when trading financial indices.

INTERNATIONAL INDICES: LOCATIONS AND OPENING HOURS

Financial indices operate internationally, with major financial centres being based in New York, United States, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Different indices have set trading hours at different times of the day. For example, whilst the FTSE 100 opens from 08:00am to 16:30pm GMT, the major US Indices trade from 09:30am until 16:00pm ET. The Hang Seng and Nikkei have two trading sessions each day, with a one hour break between morning and afternoon trading hours.

Depending on the country in which you are located, international indices will open at different times. For example, if you are UK based, the FTSE 100 will open at 08:00am and close at 16:30pm. However, to trade the US market, a UK-based trader would have to trade between its open in the afternoon (UK time) and close in the evening.

DAILY ROLLING INDEX TRADING

Expert Trader Options offers daily rolling trading on the major financial indices. This enables you to trade on indices at any time of day during the financial week, meaning that you can take a position on an index past its closing time.

Daily rolling trading makes this possible because the spreads that brokerages such as Expert Trader Options offer are based on future index values rather than current values. The market movement that occurs when an index is closed is determined by the broker's calculated value at which an index will be trading at its next open.

Because daily rolling trading is not based on the real-life movement of an index, the spreads offered by spread betting providers are relatively wide outside of trading hours. It is also important to note that daily rolling contracts attract an overnight fee for each day they "roll" into.