Markets · Indices & commodities
Indices and commodities, the basics.
An index tracks a basket of shares. A commodity is a raw material. Most retail traders reach both through CFDs, futures or ETFs.
Major stock indices
- S&P 500 500 large US companies, weighted by market value.
- Nasdaq-100 100 large non-financial companies on Nasdaq; tech-heavy.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 US blue chips, weighted by share price.
- FTSE 100 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.
- DAX 40 40 largest German companies on Xetra; includes dividends (a total-return index).
- Nikkei 225 225 Japanese companies, price-weighted.
- JSE Top 40 40 largest companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Broker CFD names differ (US500, NAS100, GER40). Check the contract spec: size per point, hours and whether it's cash or futures-based.
Commodities and what moves them
- Gold Often moves with real interest rates and the US dollar; seen as a haven in stress.
- Oil (WTI, Brent) Supply decisions (e.g. OPEC+), inventories and global demand.
- Silver Part precious metal, part industrial metal; often more volatile than gold.
- Natural gas Weather, storage levels and regional supply. Can move very sharply.
- Copper Industrial demand, especially from China.
Three ways to trade them
- CFDs: flexible sizes, leverage, overnight financing. See What are CFDs?
- Futures: exchange-traded, fixed sizes, expiry. See Futures basics.
- ETFs: own a fund that tracks the index or commodity, usually without leverage. See Stocks & ETFs.
Education only, not advice. Leveraged products can lose you more than you deposit.