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Shares and Indices
Indices Trading – What are Indices and how to use CFDs to trade them

Index trading is one of the most popular class of markets to trade for CFD traders, rivalling major FX pairs in trading volume, but what is indices trading and how does trading them with CFDs work? Most people will be familiar with the names of the major stock indices from financial reports in all forms of media, the most popular stock indices of CFD traders and the stocks they track are below: USA The Dow Jones Industrial average - 30 largest blue-chip companies in the US NASDAQ Composite Index – Top 100 largest non-financial companies in the US (Mostly Tech) S&P 500 Index - 500 large cap companies in the US (Bank heavy) Europe and UK FTSE 100 – Top 100 UK companies CAC 40 – Top 40 French companies DAX 40 – Top 40 German companies (Formerly known as the DAX30 which it may still be labelled as) Asia and Australia ASX 200 – Top 200 Australian companies Hang Seng - A selection of the largest companies in Hong Kong. Nikkei 225 - Consists of 225 stocks in the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Some of the advantages of trading indices: You can take a broad view of the health (or not) of that countries stock market, i.e. rather than take a position in a single stock, take a position in a basket of stocks by buying or selling the index they are components of.

Higher leverage available to trade stock indices, up to 100:1 for qualified Pro clients. Extended trading hours, you can take positions in most indices up to 23 hours a day, far greater hours than the underlying stock exchanges. Take positions long or short with ease to profit from both a rising and falling market.

When you take a Long (Buy) position you profit if the market moves up, a Short (Sell) position will profit when the market moves down. How Indices are priced and understanding your position size Stock Indices are priced in the native currency i.e., the Dow Jones (WS30 on the GO Markets platform) is priced in USD, the FTSE100 in GBP, the ASX200 in AUD etc. This is important to keep in mind when choosing your position size, it also important to know the specifications of the contract you are trading is to make sure you understand the lot sizing before entering a trade.

You can check the specifications of any contract on MT4 and MT5 by right clicking it in the Market Watch Window and selecting “Specification” An example specification of the Dow (WS30) is below (MT4 specs, MT5 is very similar): You can see in the example above that the WS30 contract with GO Markets has a contract size of 1, this means 1 lot will equal $1 USD per point movement in PnL if you take a position. e.g., if you buy 1 lot at a price of 33670 and the price rises to 33680 you are in profit by 10 points, which would equal $10 USD Most indices will have a contract size of 1, though it is advisable to always check as some may have different values, an example in the S&P 500 (US500) which has a contract size of 10. It is important to understand the contract size and base currency of the index you are trading before entering a trade to avoid any nasty surprises. Main drivers of what moves an Index’s price.

In choosing which Index to trade it is also important to understand the drivers of that index and it’s component stocks. All Indexes will have some common drivers, such as global growth concerns, geopolitical events and non-US indices will be affected (fairly or not) by what US markets are doing. Each index will also have its own individual drivers as well though.

Examples The NASDAQ (NDX100) is heavily weighted with mega cap tech stocks, the health of the Tech sector will heavily influence its price. The ASX200 and FTSE100 both have large contingents of miners, meaning commodity prices will be big drivers of these 2 indexes, more so the ASX200. The Russell 2000 has many regional and mid-size banks as its component stocks, which is why during the recent banking crisis it underperformed other US indices.

Understanding these unique drivers for each Index is recommended to make the best trading decisions possible. In Summary, trading Indices opens up some great opportunities to position yourself to profit from market moves, spreads on Indices with GO Markets are some of the best in the CFD industry, with tight spreads in and out of hours( Some brokers will artificially increase spreads on Indices outside the stock market hours of that country) They allow you to seamlessly take long or short positions to speculate for profit, or to headge existing stock positions from an overnight move. You can click the link below to learn more about Index trading with GO Markets. https://www.gomarkets.com/au/index-trading-cfds/

Lachlan Meakin
September 22, 2023
Forex
How to trade the US Dollar Index

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is a popular tool used by forex traders to assess the value of the US dollar relative to a basket of other major currencies. The DXY is calculated using the weighted average of six major currencies: the euro, yen, pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc. To use the DXY to trade forex, you can follow these steps: 1.

Monitor the DXY: Keep an eye on the movements of the DXY to get a sense of the overall strength or weakness of the US dollar. You can use technical analysis tools, such as moving averages or trend lines, to identify the direction of the trend. 2. Analyse currency pairs Look for forex pairs that are inversely correlated to the DXY.

This means that when the DXY goes up, the currency pair goes down, and vice versa. For example, the EUR/USD pair is negatively correlated to the DXY, which means that as the DXY goes up, the EUR/USD pair goes down. Plan your trades Once you have identified a currency pair that is inversely correlated to the DXY, you can plan your trades accordingly.

For example, if the DXY is showing signs of weakness, you may want to consider going long on a negatively correlated currency pair, such as the EUR/USD. Manage your risk As with any trading strategy, it's important to manage your risk when using the DXY to trade forex. Make sure to use stop-loss orders to limit your losses in case the market moves against you.

Currency pairs may be influenced by other factors besides the DXY, which may not be a perfect indicator of the US dollar's value. To make informed trading decisions, it is important to combine the DXY with other technical and fundamental analysis tools.

Mark Nguyen
September 22, 2023
Oil, Metals, Soft Commodities
Gold at the $2000 level

Gold had been trading strongly to the upside since the beginning of March, rising from the 1810 price area to reach the 2000 price area which was last tested in April 2022. However, after reaching the resistance area, Gold retraced lower to test the 1937.50 support area which coincides with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level and the bullish trendline. Currently, Gold is forming a double top chart pattern as the price again retraces from the resistance level at 2000.

With the Moving Average Convergence and Divergence (MACD) indicator signaling a potential bearish reversal, a confirmation of further downside potential could be signaled if Gold breaks below the bullish trendline. This could see the price trade lower to test the 1917 level, and beyond that, the 1887 support level which coincides with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Significant moves to the downside on Gold is likely to be driven by a recovery in the strength of the DXY, due to its inverse correlation with the reserve commodity.

Alternatively, if the market uncertainty increases, arising from further developments in the banking crisis or increased concern over possible global inflation, Gold could trade higher beyond the 2000 resistance level, which would invalidate the double-top formation. A continuation of the uptrend could see Gold trade toward the next resistance level of 2070, which was last reached in March 2022.

JinDao Tai
September 22, 2023
Forex
FX analysis – USDJPY - Yield differentials pushing this pair higher

USDJPY The USDJPY is on the march higher again after a better than expected Non-Farm payroll figure on Friday saw sentiment shift hawkishly toward Fed monetary policy with Fed fund futures now pricing in a 70% chance of a 25bp hike at the FOMC May meeting, up from around a 50-50 split earlier in the week. The policy divergence in the US and Japan and the subsequent yield differentials on their respective 10 year government bonds has been the main driver of this pair in the last 12 months. You can see the close relationship of this in the chart below.

The black line is the difference between 10 year yields on US 10 years – Japanese 10 year years, the orange line, the USDJPY rate. As the US yields increase their gap to their Japanese counterparts, the USDJPY will be pressured upwards as traders look for low risk carry trades. The Yen was also not helped recently by comments from the new incoming governor of the BoJ that indicated that any change to the current dovish policy was not imminent.

Key levels to watch USDJPY has been forming a textbook uptrend since late March. With the upward trend line tested and holding as support on a handful of occasions, a resistance level of 133.85 has so far held any further upside, but is looking vulnerable. Ways to trade this are 1, Playing the range, buying low at the trendline, selling high at the resistance level.

Though whilst the uptrend is in place the more cautious approach would be to stick to buys. 2, Waiting for a break of these levels for the next push. The longer this takes, and the tighter the range gets the more explosive this move could be. While economic announcements out of Japan are very light on the ground this week, The US will be releasing both CPI and PPI figures, how these inflation figures look will have a measurable effect on market sentiment towards Federal Reserve policy and will almost certainly see some big moves in the USD and rates markets, so the break of this range may come as early as tomorrow night.

Lachlan Meakin
September 22, 2023
Shares and Indices
Deere & Company tops estimates

American manufacturer of farm machinery and industrial equipment Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) announced the latest financial results for the quarter ending January 29, 2023, before the market open in the US on Friday. Revenue was reported at $12.652 billion for the quarter (up by 32% year-over-year) vs. $11.337 billion expected. Earnings per share also topped analyst estimates at $6.55 per share vs. an estimate of $5.565 per share.

The company expects revenue of between $8.75 to $9.25 billion in the fiscal year 2023. CEO commentary ''Deere’s first-quarter performance is a reflection of favorable market fundamentals and healthy demand for our equipment as well as solid execution on the part of our employees, dealers, and suppliers to get products to our customers,'' CEO of the company, John C. May said in a press release. ''We are, at the same time, benefiting from an improved operating environment, which is contributing to higher levels of production,'' May concluded.

Stock reaction Shares of Deere were up around 5% at the market open on Friday, trading at $427.32 a share. Stock performance 1 month: -1.38% 3 months: -2.43% Year-to-date: -6.02% 1 year: +5.89% Deere & Company stock price targets Stifel: $477 Citigroup: $505 BMO Capital: $450 Wells Fargo: $485 Morgan Stanley: $522 Argus Research: $475 Credit Suisse: $582 JP Morgan: $440 UBS: $452 Deutsche Bank: $374 Goldman Sachs: $420 Citigroup: $425 Deere & Company is the 114 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $119.74 billion. You can trade Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD.

Sources: Deere & Company, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap

Klavs Valters
September 22, 2023
Forex
Bollinger Bands – what are they and how can you use them in FX day trading

Bollinger Bands are one of the most popular indicators that FX and CFD traders use, invented in the 1980’s they are a technical analysis tool that are widely used by short and long term traders. The main uses for Bollinger Bands is determining turning points in the market at oversold and overbought levels and also as a trend following indicator. Like any technical indicator Bollinger Bands should be used with your own analysis to confirm trades and help set entry and exit levels, they are a fairly simple indicator that focuses on price and volatility only and shouldn’t, in my opinion be used in isolation.

While effective, to use them successfully you will need to be aware of the fundamentals and other technical indicators such as major support or resistance levels. How Bollinger Bands are calculated Bollinger Bands are composed of three lines. The middle line is a simple moving average (SMA), the default period being 20.

The upper and lower bands are the SMA plus or minus 2 standard deviations by default, the SMA period and Deviations can be adjusted in the settings of the indicator if desired, but the standard settings are the most popular settings among traders. When the price hits the upper band the market could be seen as “overbought” when it hits the lower band it could be seen as “oversold”, they can also be used as levels where trends are confirmed, e.g. hitting upper band could be seen as the start of a strong uptrend and vice versa. ​ Day Trading strategies using Bollinger Bands Bollinger Bands are used mainly in two different trading styles, for contrarians looking for overbought and oversold levels to enter fade trades, or confirmation of trend for trend following systems. Both systems have their pros and cons, as with most indicators it will depend on the market “fee” for the time used, a choppy whipsawing market will see the fading system work very well, a strong trending market will see the trend following system work very well.

As with any technical system, the selection of the market to trade and being aware of the fundamentals driving the FX market at that time are critical.. Just had a Fed meeting where they surprised with a 100bp rate hike? Don’t use the fade system on USD pairs!

A good technical system I have found is useful is a mixture of both of these strategies, using the Bollinger Bands to confirm a trend, then using the fading strategy to trade pullbacks of this trend. Lets look at the example below from the AUDNZD – 5 minute chart from the 23 rd March 2023 In the above example, which is a common price action across all FX pairs, you would be using the Bolling Bands to confirm a down trend after a close below a major low. Once the possible trend is confirmed, we will be using the “overbought” level of the upper band to enter a short trade, with a take profit exit on 2 closes below the lower band, indicating the market may have gone into “oversold” territory and was time to take some money off the table.

This process would be repeated while lower highs were being made, a close above a major recent high along with a close above the upper Bollinger Band would indicate the trend may have come to an end. This can be seen on the chart below, later in the session on the same pair. At this point you would exit the short selling of the down trend and reverse to a long bias, or if your analysis on fundamentals were negative for this pair, wait for a new downtrend to form for another shorting run.

The Bollinger Squeeze Strategy Another strategy popular with FX traders is known as the Bollinger squeeze strategy. A squeeze occurs when the price has a big move, then consolidates in a tight range, this also sees the Bollinger bands go from wide to “squeeze” in a much narrower range, hence the name of the strategy. A trader would be looking for a breakout and close below or above the Bollinger bands of this squeezed range for a trade entry, see the example below from the EURUSD 5 Minute chart on 23 rd of March 2023 When the price breaks through the upper or lower band after this period of consolidation a buy or a sell signal is generated.

An initial stop is traditionally placed just above (or below in a long position) the range of the consolidation. TP rules could be similar to the previous strategy, i.e. multiple closes below the lower Bollinger Bans in the case of a short, or using the middle Bollinger Band as a trailing stop in the move is explosive and looks to continue. Summary As you can see there are multiple uses for Bollinger Bands in a FX day traders toolbox, including using them for overbought and oversold trade signals in a trending market and the Squeeze strategy where an explosive move often follows a period of consolidation.

There are also many more strategies using this indicator which I encourage you to research for yourself.

Lachlan Meakin
September 22, 2023