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Spread Betting Companies - Indices Narrow Spreads Comparison
The FTSE’s opened lower than our original call this morning as the bears take control using the after thought of the BOE’s quarterly inflation report as an excuse to test recent lows around 6140. Clients remain bearish of the FTSE 100 overall, but today’s dip has attracted a few buyers back into the market in the belief that this little uptrend has further to go. The fact remains though that since the small break-out at the beginning of May the market has traded sideways and the feeling is that there needs to be a real turn in the tide for the market to push on up a steep hill. The jury is still out as to whether this is a bear market bounce or a true end to the overall bear market. The answer to this will be down to how the banking stocks perform going forward. Recently they have been particularly sluggish yet the FTSE has remained relatively resilient.
Retailers are feeling it a bit this morning after DSG International, (Dixons and Currys) announced a cut in their annual dividend and they are due to close some stores following a drop in sales. With more disposable income going on petrol on food it’ll be a while before wages catch up again for consumers to be able to go and splash out on new TVs, cookers etc. With no interest for football supporters in this year’s Euro Championships as well, the future looks grim for electrical retailers.
Spread Betting on Indices, 14 May 08
Mining stocks lead the way and they have been the stalwarts of the FTSE in the past few weeks. Banks are really sluggish despite better than expected figures from France’s BNP Paribas. It seems that investors have cashed in on a round of large dividends from banks and just lost interest by selling up. One can’t help but have the feeling that there will come a point rather soon when investors pile back into these banking stocks. The main thing preventing them at the moment is the prospect of interest rates not going down as expected.
The FTSE 100’s been hovering around 6200 for a while now and clients remain bearish overall. The intraday trading environment remains attractive with small daily ranges across the majority of financial markets at the moment. The real question is though are we going to see the old adage “sell in May and go away” come to fruition.
Spread Betting on Indices, 13 May 08
The markets today look to be opening back up at yesterdays opening levels as the FTSE yet again tries to break above 6270. The price action of the last few days bears an uncanny resemblance to the action in mid to late April when we were struggling to get above 6100 (remember the five trading days in a row when the index closed within a few pips of each preceding day). The pressure looks, once more, to be on the up side but we have been here before and with the CPI number out at 09.30 it would be odd for us to break out before this.
Spread Betting on Indices, 12 May 08
The FTSE 100 spread is opening about 25 higher at around 6230 in early action as the Oil and Mining sectors exert their influence once more but with retailing and banking, yet again, taking the back seat. The index looks to be pressuring the 6250 to 6280 level mentioned several times over the past week or so. Bulls will be hoping for a breach which would then leave a resistance target around 6310 - 6340. On the down side there is now solid volume support all the way down to 5990.
Spread Betting on Indices, 9 May 08
Markets continue to look buoyant in the UK as the effects of Oil and Mining bolster their respective sectors.
As mentioned several times over the past few days the FTSE is struggling to overcome the 6250 resistance. Although we have closed at or around the level several times traders have shied away from buying above the line. The pressure still appears to be very much on the upside but we are vulnerable at the current level to some bad piece of news. Mind you, markets do seem to have finally got shot of the reaction of reading every piece of information negatively and are swinging over to the other side of the equation and are beginning to don the rose tinted glasses.
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Spread Betting on Indices, 8 May 08
Indices are a tad weaker after the US indulged in one of its late night sell offs with the Dow Jones dropping 200 points from its highs and the S&P giving up on the 1400 level for now. The FTSE is called to come in 30 points lower at around 6230 but the bulls still seem to hold the upper hand and shorts are vulnerable to spikes higher.
Spread Betting on Indices, 7 May 08
The markets today are likely to open slightly to the good as the short squeeze continues to bite.
Whilst the FTSE 100 has managed to break above the post Jan highs, the FTSE 250 is still just below the peaks of the rallies in February and March. The high in February was 10385 and in March, 10335. The current FTSE 250 spread is 10289-10309 having rallied some 250 points since the end of April. If the index can break above 10400, and stay there, then the squeeze in the main indices is likely to continue but if we fail in the junior index then the senior partner may well struggle to make much headway above the 6250 price level.
Spread Betting on Indices, 6 May 08
Markets today are likely to be on the up, initially, as crude oil and gold continue to bolster the Mining and Oil sector and, rather more cruelly, continue to squeeze those who have shorted the market. As mentioned last week the contraction of the FTSE over the previous weeks trading was a sure sign of a break out coming. That the break out was, on a probability basis, more likely to be to the upside than down. Clients continued to sell any price above 6100 and were unfortunately caught out by the sharp shift on Friday as the pre-bank holiday activity saw traders tighten the screw on anyone trying to set up shorts.
For those who wish to restrict short selling of stock the latest moves show what happens when the bears get caught out the wrong way round. The cost of borrowing the stock means that they will be hammered both ways round and the market can be as cruel to short sellers as to those caught long of a ‘Northern Rock’. If you are long at least you can sit back and await events. If you are short you may easily be forced out of positions by an adverse move. Markets are the most capitalist element of a capitalist society. You must be able to ‘invest’ either way round to maintain market liquidity and maintain correct market valuations. If all you could do in the market was to buy or do nothing then the ability for major players to manipulate the markets would be greatly enhanced (far above the minor one day problem of HBOS a month or so ago).
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Spread Betting on Indices, 2 May 08
We continue to hover around the 6100 level in the FTSE with our call coming as high as 30 points above where the market closed last night, so 6127. A good, but most importantly sustained rally from US equity markets yesterday has put the bulls in the driving seat this morning. Asian banks did well overnight so we can expect banking stocks to attract buyers this morning. Clients in particular seem to favour many of the banks over other sectors at the moment with a few longer term bulls having bought some quarterly contracts. Banking stocks have also provided good opportunities for day traders recently, trading in and out of them over shorter time frames as they’ve been swinging in quiet tight ranges (along with the overall index).
Spread Betting on Indices, 1 May 08
Quite incredible, in all my time working in The City I cannot recall when the FTSE has ever finished four trading sessions in a row at, effectively, the same level. The last four closing prices have been covered by around 5 points.
We had another go at breaking above 6100 and an attempt at trying for the downside but both were swiftly and quite easily defeated as the markets awaited the Feds’ decision last night. The eventual quarter point reduction was outside of the UK’s trading hours and so the big rally and subsequent fall of the US indices had, in the end, no effect on our markets.
Virtually every major index ended one of the biggest ‘information’ days of the month unchanged (by recent standards) although the Dax did manage to reverse the previous days’ weakness with a 0.9% rally.
The FTSE 100 spread is called some 15 points lower this morning at around 6075. However with much of Europe taking the day off (1st of May) and probably then making a long weekend of it before the UK then takes Monday off, the chances are that volumes are going to be on the light side.
Without one or other of the major centres (UK, US or Europe) in play the whole market tends to drift and after the last five days performance it is difficult to imagine it to be any different this time.
Indices Spread Betting, 30 Apr 08
As with yesterday’s comment, the markets look like opening almost unchanged after attempts to the upside and the downside were defeated. In fact, the FTSE 100 had to rally 50 points in the last half hour to achieve the ‘unchanged’ status. This now marks three days in a row where the index has closed within a 2 point range. A pretty unusual occurrence considering the fact that crude oil and metals have had a truly exciting time over the past few days. The Capital Spreads clients continue to sell heavily on any rally above 6100 and have been amply rewarded so far.
Indices Markets are opening almost unchanged this morning with the FTSE called about 10 lower at 6080 and the Dax 10 higher at 6895. However the UK index might struggle to hold these levels in early trade as the Oil and Metals markets fell sharply from the previous days closes. Mining stocks may be weaker on the off with BHP and Rio trading some 3% down in Australian markets. Oil is now all the way down at ‘just’ $113 for the June Brent Crude contract, some $4 from the highs, but I do not get the impression that this is a concerted sell off just yet. It is more probably along the lines of a pause for breath. If the weakness continues over a couple of days then we may find that the sentiment turns sharply but until this happens I am afraid that peak oil looks here to stay.
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Indices Spread Betting, 29 Apr 08
Well the plus 6100 level on the FTSE 100 lasted less than one trading session but the positive aspect is that at least it has not been rejected completely. Throughout the day the lack of upside progress weighed down on traders minds and by the close nerves were beginning to fray.
Even so, in recent times, the rejection of highs has tended to be rather more violent than yesterdays price action and the closing level was virtually unchanged from Friday’s close. There are two differing views to take from this...either it is a confirmation of the resistance levels at around 6100 or the pressure on selling was not enough to cause the bulls to throw in the towel.
There is a slight dislocation between the FTSE 100 and the German and US indices with the former up 30 points and the latter two down 30 points. However, to be honest there seems to be little in the way of momentum and with every attempt at a break out either up or down seemingly being defeated the prospect is for a quieter start to the summer than in previous years.
Indices Spread Betting, 28 Apr 08
Markets look to be finally attempting the 6100 level this morning as we expect an opening level 35 points up at around the 6125 mark. After two weeks of refusing to even contemplate a pitch above 6090 it might be that a unilateral move higher, effectively in ‘out of hours’ trading, is what is needed to make the move. The important point will be whether we are able to maintain our 6100 plus level in the FTSE 100 or whether we will just get sold back through it. There is almost certain to be an attempt to push lower in early action.
Indices Spread Betting, 25 Apr 08
The trading range of the FTSE almost exactly matched the previous days efforts with the ultimate result also almost identical. The markets continue to wrestle with the 5970 to 6100 range and my comment about many traders waiting for one or the other to be defeated still remains in place. Yesterday’s action was an absolute boon to our clients who as mentioned in yesterdays comment have been heavy sellers at anything above 6050. The fall down to 5950 brought out heavy profit taking and then a strong reversal which many punters bought into. The net result was a lovely profit on the way down and an even better one on the way up.
We are still stuck just under the 6100 level this morning but the bulls seem to have the best of it at the moment. Every time we get up to this level it seems as though the break out is imminent only for traders to run out of steam.
Indices Spread Betting, 24 Apr 08
The markets this morning are looking to be coming in slightly weaker after the short squeeze yesterday. The closing level was still not significantly above the resistance levels around 6065 and 6080 mentioned yesterday. A break below 5980 or above 6100 is required to indicate the next direction.
Today sees the opening FTSE spread around 30 points lower at 6050 and it looks like the Capital Spread Account holders are sellers yet again. As they have continued to be every time we have been close to the 6050 level over the past six or seven trading sessions.
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Indices Spread Betting, 23 Apr 08
Markets today are a bit more optimistic than was forecast late last night. The closing quote for the FTSE 100 at 9pm was down at around 6000 after the US fell in late trading. But this morning the Far East has held steady and valuations have perked up.
The FTSE 100 spread is now at 6060 - 6061 and we continue to hammer, for the sixth day in a row, at the resistance levels between 6065 and 6075. The price action is tightening up which indicates (normally) that a price spike out is on the cards. Whether this move is to the upside or down only time will tell but a close below 5985 or above 6075 may well be the trigger.
It depends upon what you mean by free. If you're looking for a free Demo Account where you can practice spread trading see below.
Tax Free. If you are looking for a free spread betting platform then don't forget that in the UK spread betting is tax free*
You can also spread bet on FTSE 100, Dow Jones and other Indices commission free and with no brokers fees at:
Free Demo Account
If you're looking for a free Practice Account / Test Account where you can trial spread betting, including Indices markets like FTSE 100, FTSE 250, S&P, Nasdaq, DAX etc then you can you can always try:
Each of the above currently offers a free demo account.
How to Spread Bet on Indices?
As with many financial markets, you can spread bet on the future price of Indices. Ie, you can financial spread trade on Indices, like the FTSE 100, increasing or decreasing.
Currently the FTSE 100 (March) market is at 6682 - 6686 with FinancialSpreads.com. This price expires on 21-Mar-08.
Therefore you can financial spread trade on the FTSE 100 settling:
Above 6686, or
Below 6682
By the expiry date of 21-Mar-08.
For the FTSE 100 price, you trade in £X per point, where a point is 1 point of FTSE 100 movement. For example if your stake was £6 per point and the FTSE 100 moves 4 points then that would be a £24 difference to your profits.
FTSE 100 Trading Example
Let's say, taking the above spread of 6682 - 6686 that you have done your research and you think that the FTSE 100 should go up to more than 6686 by 21-Mar-08.
Therefore you buy at 6686 for a stake of £3 per point.
If by the closing date the Index closes at 6698.
Then your profit/loss is worked out by taking the difference between the closing level, ie 6698 and the price you bought at, namely 6686 and then multiplying that by the stake per point of movement.
Profits = (6698 - 6686) x £3 per point stake.
= 12 points x £3 per point stake.
= £36 profit.
But if the market didn't move as you originally forecast and had the FTSE 100 gone against you and the price finished at a lower value of 6670, then you would have made a loss.
Loss = (6670 - 6686) x £3 per point stake.
= -16 points x £3 per point stake.
= -£48 loss.
More Indices Examples
Where can I Find Free Live Prices on Indices?
If you want to access quick live market information then you could do worse than opening an account with a firm like Financial Spreads.
Also, you don't have to trade with them, if you just open an account (which is free to do) then their data is free. The catch? You'll get the odd email or letter from them. In the example below you can also see that their free charts are also useful.
As mentioned above, you can get free charts with spread betting companies like Financial Spreads.
You can alter the charts to see market data by the minute, by the hour, by the week etc, plus many other settings to help you analyse the charts.
As you can see the charts show how the market's are not perfect and how you can expect the prices to "gap".
FinancialSpreads.com also have another pretty handy tool in their free Demo account (mentioned above). You can open a Demo account and place demo trades whilst you practice with no risk or cost attached.
Index Spread Betting Markets
Each spread betting company offer their own specific markets however a number of the companies will offer most, if not all, of the following:
Where can I find Free Indices Trading Platforms / Software?
Some of the trading firms offer software / trading platforms you have to download but most offer free web based platforms that allow easier access from home, the office and most other places with Internet Access.
The following also offer free live prices and charts:
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'Indices Spread Betting' by DB, updated 15-May-08
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Risk Warning: Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
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