Indices trading
Take your position on over 80 indices with the world’s No.1 spread betting and CFD provider.1,2
Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com to talk about opening an account.
Contact us 08001953100
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com to talk about opening an account.
Contact us 08001953100
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
Why trade indices with IG?
Seize exclusive opportunities on more 24-hour indices than any other provider
Benefit from our deep liquidity – increasing the chance of your larger trades being accepted
Get spreads from 1 point on the FTSE 100, 1.2 on the Germany 40 and 0.4 on the US 500
Deal on our award-winning platform and mobile app3
Give yourself an edge with the only UK provider to offer weekend trading on key indices4
Go short or long to capitalise on falling or rising markets*
* Trading with leveraged products mean you can go long or short with indices. However, it’s important to remember that leveraged products magnify losses as well as profits, both of which are calculated on the full position value.
More index trading hours, more opportunity
We offer over 30 more weekly trading hours than our nearest competitor, so you can:
- Open or edit positions when other traders can’t
- Hedge your weekday positions with a weekend one on the same market
- Act on breaking news, macroeconomic events and earnings reports as they happen
- FTSE 100
- Germany 40
- Wall Street
This data is based on analysis of the FTSE 100, Germany 40 and Wall Street offering from our UK competitors’ websites, and is correct to the best of our ability as of 30 July 2020. Some trading hours have been rounded up or down to the nearest hour. This table is for comparative purposes only, and the data is subject to change.
Discover our indices markets
- Popular indices
- New indices
- Weekend indices
Find an index to trade
Search real-time prices, find your next trade.
Ways to trade indices with us
When you trade indices with us, you’ll use spread bets and CFDs to take advantage of price movements. Discover the unique benefits of each:
| Spread betting | CFD trading | |
| Main benefits | Profits are tax-free in the UK5 | Tax-deductible losses are useful for hedging5 |
| Accessible to | All clients | All clients |
| Traded in | £ or other base currency per point of movement | Contracts |
| Tax status | No capital gains tax (CGT) or stamp duty5 | No stamp duty, but you do pay CGT. Offset losses against profits for tax purposes5 |
| Commission | Commission-free | Commission-free |
| Platforms | Web platform, mobile trading app and MT4 | Web platform, mobile trading app and MT4 |
| Learn more | Learn more |
What are indices?
Indices measure the performance of a group of shares that are listed on a stock market.
Because there are no underlying physical assets to exchange, indices are traded with financial derivatives like spread bets and CFDs.
How can you trade indices in the UK?
- Create an IG trading account
- Research the index you want to trade
- Decide how you want to trade
- Take steps to manage your risk
- Open and monitor your position
Benefits of index trading
- Speculate on a group of shares for less than the cost of trading them individually
- Get exposure to an entire sector or economy at once
- Hedge against a drop in the value of your share portfolio
Risks of index trading
- Spread bets and CFDs are leveraged, meaning your index trade is opened with a small margin, but its profit or loss is calculated on the total position size, not the margin amount, so losses could substantially outweigh your margin
- Gaining exposure to an entire sector or economy also ups your market risk
- Hedging is a great way to limit your losses if done successfully, but are not an assurance against any loss
Open an account now
Open an account now
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
Open an account now
Open an account now
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
Indices costs and details
Margin
Spread betting and CFD trading enable you to take a position with leverage, meaning you can get full market exposure for a small deposit – known as margin. The margin required to open a position depends on the market, but the profit or loss of a trade is calculated based on the full size of your position and could substantially outweigh your margin amount.
| Market | Retail margin | Leverage equivalent |
| Wall Street | 5% | 1:20 |
| Germany 40 | 5% | 1:20 |
| US Tech 100 | 5% | 1:20 |
| FTSE 100 | 5% | 1:20 |
| US 500 | 5% | 1:20 |
| Hong Kong HS 50 | 10% | 1:10 |
| Japan 225 | 5% | 1:20 |
| Weekend UK 100 Cash | 5% | 1:20 |
| Weekend Germany 40 Cash | 5% | 1:20 |
Spreads
The spread is what you pay us for executing your trade, calculated as the difference between our current buy and sell prices for a market. We’re constantly working to keep our spreads among the lowest in the industry.
| Market | Spread betting min. spread | CFD trading min. spread | MT4 |
| Wall Street | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Germany 40 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| US Tech 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FTSE 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| US 500 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Hong Kong HS 50 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Japan 225 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Weekend UK 100 Cash |
8 | 8 | - |
| Weekend Germany 40 Cash | 15 | 15 | - |
Indices costs and details
Margin
Spread betting and CFD trading enable you to take a position with leverage, meaning you can get full market exposure for a small deposit – known as margin. The margin required to open a position depends on the market, but the profit or loss of a trade is calculated based on the full size of your position and could substantially outweigh your margin amount.
| Market | Retail margin | Leverage equivalent |
| Wall Street | 5% | 1:20 |
| Germany 40 | 5% | 1:20 |
| US Tech 100 | 5% | 1:20 |
| FTSE 100 | 5% | 1:20 |
| US 500 | 5% | 1:20 |
| Hong Kong HS 50 | 10% | 1:10 |
| Japan 225 | 5% | 1:20 |
| Weekend UK 100 Cash | 5% | 1:20 |
| Weekend Germany 40 Cash | 5% | 1:20 |
Spreads
The spread is what you pay us for executing your trade, calculated as the difference between our current buy and sell prices for a market. We’re constantly working to keep our spreads among the lowest in the industry.
| Market | Spread betting min. spread | CFD trading min. spread | MT4 |
| Wall Street | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Germany 40 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1 |
| US Tech 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FTSE 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| US 500 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Hong Kong HS 50 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Japan 225 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Weekend UK 100 Cash |
8 | 8 | - |
| Weekend Germany 40 Cash | 15 | 15 | - |
Trade indices on the UK’s best trading platform3
Seize your next opportunity on our award-winning platform and mobile trading app.3
- Web-based platform
- Mobile trading app
- Meta Trader 4
Take control of your indices trading with our clean deal ticket, clear price charts and in-platform news and analysis.
Trade indices opportunity wherever you are, and receive trading alerts and signals on the go through email, SMS or push.
Automate your indices trading with MT4, one of the most popular third-party indices trading platforms.
Get the latest indices news
-
Wall Street: market dive amid rate cut doubts, bank woes, & middle east strife
2024-04-15T04:54:24+0100
Start trading now
Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.
Start trading now
Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.
Start trading now
Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.
Start trading now
Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.
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1 We offer 81 indices markets for CFD trading, and 69 indices markets for spread betting.
2 Based on revenue (published financial statements, 2022).
3 Best trading platform as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards and Professional Trader Awards 2019.
4 24/7 excludes the hours from 10pm Friday to 8am Saturday (UK time), and 20 minutes just before the weekday market opens on Sunday night.
5 Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
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