Indices - market information

Use the table below to find out all you need to know about spread betting on stock indices with Spreadex.

Use the tab sections to access the market information you require for each product or click on the product name to find a full description of the product.

See further below for our Indices Market FAQs.

HOW TO

ROLL A FUTURES BET

Trades will be automatically rolled by us during the final trading day of the existing contract, if your preferences are set correctly and there are sufficient funds in your account to pay for any charges in the rollover.

When being automatically rolled, your closing price on the expiring contract will be the Bid if you are long and the Offer if you are short. These prices will be taken at the time of the roll and your P&L whether positive or negative will be crystallised. The opening price in the next quarterly contract will be the Bid if you are short or the Offer if you are long.

ADJUSTED ALTERNATIVE REFERENCE RATES

Following the phasing out of IBOR rates, 1 month Alternative Reference Rates (ARRs) are used in funding calculations. ARRs are based on actual overnight interest rates in liquid wholesale cash and derivative markets.

The applicable ARR will be based on the currency in which the underlying market trades:

Unlike IBOR rates, ARRs do not incorporate credit risk. To compensate for this, we adjust the ARRs based on the one-month spread adjustment proposed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).

How to

go long and short in the same market

When placing your second trade on the same market, simply check the ‘Force Open’ box on the trade ticket.

Also, it is possible to open a ‘Force Open’ position via an order.

To do so, place an opening order in the opposite direction to your existing position and once the order is filled it will be a ‘Force Open’ position.

HOW TO work out

HOW dividend adjustments affect A bet

A stock index is made up of a collection of different companies. When a company pays a dividend to its shareholders the value of their shares should, generally speaking, fall by the same amount as the dividend paid. As an index is made up of a number of companies, whenever a company within the index pays out a dividend the value of the index should fall as a consequence.

As companies prices within an index are weighted when determining the value of an index, the fall in value of the index will not necessarily equal the value of the dividend.

If you hold a position through the close of a rolling stock index, you will be liable to receive or pay the value of the dividend adjustment. These will be applied as a dividend cash adjustment on your account after the market close.

For example: You have bought £10 UK 100 Rolling Bet. You hold your position into the close of the market at 16:30 and it is reported a dividend of 5.1 points will be deducted from the index.

Just after the close of the market we will adjust the basis of our UK rolling price to account for the 5.1 points coming off the value of the UK 100. Your open P&L will now include this £51 loss. To compensate for this, you will receive a dividend cash adjustment onto your ledger of £51.

If you sold (went short) the UK 100 Rolling for £10, your open P&L would have improved by £51 in the above example and so to reflect this improvement you would be debited £51 from your trading ledger.

If you have bought (are long) the dividend adjustment will be credited to your account.

If you have sold (are short) the dividend adjustment will be debited from your account.

Whilst we don't publish expected dividends on the website, any trader will be happy to confirm the amount if you contact us.

HOW TO find the

EXPIRY DATES FOR MARKETS

To find information about a market, including the expiry date, click on the 'i' button next to the market in question when logged into your account.

In most cases the Spreadex expiry date is before that of the relevant exchange traded future.

This is due to contracts becoming illiquid, making it difficult to trade out of any corresponding position that we may hold with our brokers.

As expiry approaches in the market, spreads may also widen significantly.

Rather than widen our spreads and possibly not being able to trade clients out of positions due to the illiquid nature of the underlying market we choose to roll and expire our equivalent market whilst there is still substantial volume in the market.

For all indices market expiry dates please visit our Indices Market Information Sheets or call our financial traders on 08000 526 570.

FIND out more on

the ftse 100 index

The FTSE 100 Index (UK 100, Daily) is made up from the 100 most highly capitalised markets on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is a joint venture between the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange and was created in 1984. The companies listed represent over 80% of the total capitalisation on the stock exchange. Some of the companies listed include HSBC, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Vodafone. 

find out more on

the deutscher aktien index (the DAX)

The Deutscher Aktien Index or DAX is an index consisting of the 40 major German companies, as measured in order book volume and market capitalisation, trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Some of the companies listed on the DAX include BMW, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and Volkswagen Group. 

find out more on

the S&P 500

The S&P 500 is an index owned and maintained by Standard and Poor’s of the top 500 large cap, publicly held companies traded on either of two of the largest US stock markets; the NYSE Euronext and the NASDAQ.

The index includes firms such as JP Morgan, Kellogg’s, Marriott International, PepsiCo and 3M. The size of the firms included, and the fact that they are publicly held, means there is plenty of information available to make educated financial spread bets.

find out more on

the nikkei

The Nikkei is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange which measures the performance of some of Japan’s top companies.

The index includes a variety of recognisable names such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony, Honda and many more. Studying information on these high profile companies can help spread bettors make educated trades on one of the world’s most important indices.

The word Nikkei comes from the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a newspaper that created the Index in 1949 and still is responsible for its calculation.

find out more on

the euro stoxx 50

The Euro Stoxx 50 is a blue-chip index that includes 50 of the super-sector leaders in the Eurozone.

The index is run by Stoxx Ltd, who are owned by Deutsche Boerse AG and SIX Group AG. The index includes companies such as Allianz, AXA, ING, Phillips, Renault and Volkswagen.