Types of indices In Trade XN
There are many different types of stock indices catering to trader needs: global, regional, national, exchange-based, industry, currency and sentiment-based. However, in addition to stock index trading, you can also trade commodity and bond indices.
Stock: A stock index is calculated from the price of its constituent stocks. Any index lists the criteria a company must meet to qualify for inclusion. Benchmark stock market indices are often referred to in financial news reports. They’re considered indicators of business confidence, performance and economic health.
Trading indices linked to specific industries is also popular among traders. For example, the NASDAQ 100 lists the biggest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. As its composition is tech-focused, it’s often used as a barometer of the US technology sector’s performance and is one of the go-to choices for stock index trading.
Commodity: Indices that track commodities tend to follow spot or futures contracts representing the price of a commodity, such as crude oil, gold, silver, copper, coffee, sugar.
For example, the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index provides investors with a benchmark while the United States Oil Fund tracks the daily price changes for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.
There are also commodity-linked stock indices that represent stocks in companies involved in the commodity sector, such as mining companies or oil and gas producers. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) tracks the Energy Select Sector index, which is composed of large-cap US companies in the oil and gas market, as well as energy equipment firms. The VA neck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) invests in stocks of small gold mining companies, with the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index as its underlying index.
Bonds: Bonds are fixed-income securities that represent a unit of debt. When investors buy bonds, they essentially lend money to the bond-issuer, with an interest charge included in repayments. Bond indices are designed to measure the performance of certain sectors of the bond market, such as corporate bonds, government bonds and municipal bonds. The S&P 500 Bond Index, which follows corporate bond performance, is designed to be a counterpart to the S&P 500 Index in gauging market returns.
Currencies: Currency-based indices aim to track the performance of the underlying currency. For example, the US Dollar Index (DXY) measures the value of greenback against a basket of other currencies. It is a leading international benchmark for the value of the US currency.
Other examples include Euro Currency Index (ECY) and British Pound Currency Index (BXY), and many more.
Sentiment : Sentiment-linked indices follow a measure of sentiment in the markets, such as volatility. One of the most famous sentiment indices is the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX), which measures volatility in S&P 500 index option contracts.
When VIX rises, it means that there is increased volatility in the stock market, typically associated by market fear and sell-off. When VIX is low, the equities tend to be relatively stable.
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