Trading in Ireland: everything you need to know
New to the world of trading? From how trading works to the markets you can speculate on, here you'll discover all the trading need-to-knows to start you off on the right foot.
Start trading today. Call +35 318 009 95362 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com. We’re here 24 hours a day, from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday.
Trading essentials
Trading is the act of buying and selling financial assets for the purpose of making profit. You predict the price movement of the underlying asset by going long or short; and make a profit if your prediction is accurate. Trading is seldom used interchangeably with investing, but there’s a difference.
Investing is when you buy and own an asset outright. Trading is when you use a financial instrument called a derivative – like exchange-traded products (ETPs), CFDs and options – to speculate on an asset’s price movement – without owning the asset.
Trading products in Ireland
ETP trading
Trade ETPs like Turbo24, constant leverage certificates and covered warrants that enable you to go long or short on the price direction of an underlying asset, tracking your position day to day and intraday.
CFD trading
CFDs are derivatives where you exchange the difference in price between opening the contract and closing it.
Options trading
Explore barriers and vanilla options trading where you’ll buy contracts that enable you to speculate on the future value of a market, giving you the right – but not the obligation – to trade the market at a set price on or before a set date.
Markets to trade in the Ireland
Shares
Shares are units of ownership in a company. You can earn profit by correctly predicting the rise and fall of the price level.
Forex
Forex trading involves speculating on the price of one currency against another. You trade on movements in the market price between currencies.
Cryptos
Crypto trading involves predicting the price movement of popular digital currency pairs such as bitcoin, litecoin, ripple and ether without owning them.
Commodities
Commodities are physical goods bought and sold on exchanges, like stocks. There are different types of categories of commodities, from agriculture and energy to minerals.
ETFs
ETFs, known as exchange-traded funds, are themed baskets that track the value of an individual commodity as well as a collection of stocks.
IPOs
An initial public offering is a process for private companies to be traded publicly. You can trade the shares of the company once they’re listed on the stock exchange.
Bonds
Bond trading involves buying and selling corporate and government bonds. You trade on the actual prices of the bond sold on the secondary market.
Interest rates
Interest rates are the value charged on the borrower of a loan of an asset, indicated as a percentage. You can trade three interest rates with us.
Indices
Trade indices to get exposure to the world’s biggest stock markets – from the France 40, Germany 40, Italy 40 to Wall Street.
Latest trading news
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DAX 40 nears record highs as German economy anticipates growth under new leadership
2025-05-06T04:53:23+0100 -
European indices rebound on optimism ahead of key growth and inflation data
2025-04-29T04:50:02+0100
Live market prices for Ireland traders
Trade what you want, when you want, with us. Our innovative platform enables you to set alerts on the most popular markets and receive notifications about market events – as they happen. We offer more than 13,000 markets to trade. You won’t find that anywhere else.
Out of hours market prices
Get access to a range of trading opportunities after hours when the market has closed. We offer the longest trading hours for key markets like US stocks, the FTSE 100, Dow Jones, DAX, Hang Seng, GBP/USD, EUR/USD and USD/JPY.
This period generally features a lot of volatility in prices because trading volumes after hours tend to be modest.
While there exists the potential to make a profit when other investors and traders are not active, there’s risk in trading after hours due to reduced liquidity, a wider spread and volatility in the market.
Trading strategies and styles you need to know
Trading strategies guide
Discover several trading strategies and styles you can use when speculating on price movements. Analyse the market and track emerging trends to tailor your position for a particular strategy to get the best results.
Day trading strategies
Choose the best strategy to buy and sell stocks within a short timeframe, usually in a single trading day. Traders speculate on asset prices, executing trades multiple times to take advantage of market movements in a day.
Scalping trading strategies
Learn more about four scalping strategies that take advantage of small price changes. You open a trade and close it the moment that profit is made to lower exposure to risk.
Swing trading strategies
A swing trading strategy involves taking a position that lasts for a couple of days. You’ll make profit or potential loss depending on how much the price moves in line with the prevailing trend.
Buy and hold trading strategy
Position trading involves taking a long-term position on an asset and keeping it open for long. You can trade or invest using position trading strategies when you spot a trend developing.
Free trading resources for Ireland traders
- You can open a free demo account to practise and discover the best trading strategies that work before you move to a live account
- Beginners and seasoned traders can act on trading signals that describe emerging chart patterns and key levels on a range of markets
- You can customise trading alerts to receive automatic notifications when prices reach your specified targets
FAQs
How can beginners learn to trade?
Beginners can learn how to trade on our demo account that features all of the markets that you can speculate on live. You will be credited with €10,000 in virtual funds to take your first position.
What are the best trading platforms?
We offer Ireland’s best platform and app.1 Our platform has a user-friendly interface and fast response time on different programmes we offer like MT4, ProRealTime, and L2 Dealer.
How can I start trading stocks and shares?
You can start trading stocks by speculating on the price of an individual company or entire market by using ETPs, CFDs and options to get exposure.
How can I start trading forex and currencies?
You can start trading forex and popular currency pairs with us using ETPs, CFDs on the spot and options at a later stage.
Try these next
Discover how exchange-traded products work when trading.
Learn more about turbo warrants and how to trade them with us.
Find out how to trade CFDs on our platform.
1 Best trading platform as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2022 and Professional Trader Awards 2021. Best trading app as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2022.
Connect with us
Options and turbo warrants are complex financial instruments. Trading these financial instruments involves the high risk of losing money rapidly.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Professional clients can lose more than they deposit.
CFD, spread betting, options and turbo warrants accounts are provided by IG Europe GmbH. IG Europe GmbH (a company incorporated in the Federal Republic of Germany and registered in the Frankfurt Trade Register under number HRB 115624 with registered office at Westhafenplatz 1, 60327 Frankfurt, Germany). IG Europe GmbH (Register number 148759) is authorised and regulated by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht and Deutsche Bundesbank.
The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States, Belgium or any particular country outside the EEA and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.
CAC 40® is registered trademark(s) of Euronext N.V. or its subsidiaries. Euronext N.V. or its subsidiaries holds all (intellectual) proprietary rights with respect to the Index. Euronext N.V. or its subsidiaries do not sponsor, endorse or have any other involvement in the issue and offering of the product. Euronext N.V. and its subsidiaries disclaim any liability for any inaccuracy in the data on which the Index is based, for any mistakes, errors, or omissions in the calculation and/or dissemination of the Index, or for the manner in which it is applied in connection with the issue and offering thereof.