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Best Market Indices Forex Brokers

BrokerNotes.co

Written by BrokerNotes.co

April 24, 2023

What is a Stock Market Index?

A stock market index is a measurement of an established segment of the stock market. It is often used as a type of benchmark from which the performance of other stocks is measured and is used by investors as a gauge for building a portfolio. For example, the FTSE 100 is made up of the biggest 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange and provides a meter for the UK markets whilst the DAX index is made up of 30 of the top companies listed on the Frankfurt Exchange and is a meter of the German stock market.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 65% and 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Best Forex Brokers for Trading Market Indices

Here are the best forex brokers for trading market indices.

  • IG
    - 9.9/10 Overall
  • Saxo Bank - 9.7/10 Overall
  • Interactive Brokers - 9.7/10 Overall
  • CMC Markets - 9.6/10 Overall
  • TD Ameritrade - 9.5/10 Overall
  • FOREX.com
    - 9.3/10 Overall
  • City Index - 9.2/10 Overall
  • XTB - 9/10 Overall
  • eToro - 8.8/10 Overall

Overall Rating

9.9 / 10

Minimum Deposit

£250.00

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard0.86
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active0.5957
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1974
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankYes
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tier-2 Licenses2
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)19537
Forex Pairs (Total)100
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)33
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.7 / 10

Minimum Deposit

€2,000

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard0.9
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active0.7
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1992
Publicly Traded (Listed)No
BankYes
Tier-1 Licenses6
Tier-2 Licenses1
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)60000
Forex Pairs (Total)190
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)62
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.7 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$0

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard0.6
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active0.6
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)No
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1977
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses8
Tier-2 Licenses1
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)8500
Forex Pairs (Total)90
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingNo
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)128
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.6 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$0

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard0.51
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active0.51
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1989
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses5
Tier-2 Licenses1
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)12377
Forex Pairs (Total)158
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)84
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.5 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$0

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard1.25
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active1.25
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)No
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1955
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankYes
Tier-1 Licenses4
Tier-2 Licenses0
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)0
Forex Pairs (Total)73
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingNo
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)360
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.3 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$100

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard1.0
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active1.0
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1999
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses4
Tier-2 Licenses2
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)5500
Forex Pairs (Total)91
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)Yes
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingNo
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)203
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9.2 / 10

Minimum Deposit

£100.00

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard1.0
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active1.0
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)No
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded1983
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses3
Tier-2 Licenses2
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)13500
Forex Pairs (Total)84
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)88
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

9 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$0

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard1.07
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active1.04
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded2002
Publicly Traded (Listed)Yes
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses1
Tier-2 Licenses3
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)12000
Forex Pairs (Total)57
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)39
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)Yes
Economic CalendarYes

Overall Rating

8.8 / 10

Minimum Deposit

$10-$10,000

Trust Score Trust Score is a numerical rating (from 1 - 99) that represents a broker's overall trust. close

Highly Trusted
Cost & Fundingexpand_moreexpand_less
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard1
All-in Cost EUR/USD - ActiveN/A
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)Yes
Regulationexpand_moreexpand_less
Year Founded2007
Publicly Traded (Listed)No
BankNo
Tier-1 Licenses2
Tier-2 Licenses1
Investment Optionsexpand_moreexpand_less
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs)Yes
Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDsYes
Tradeable Symbols (Total)3458
Forex Pairs (Total)49
BitcoinYes
Trading Platformsexpand_moreexpand_less
Virtual Trading (Demo)Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Proprietary PlatformYes
Social Trading / Copy TradingYes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)66
Apps & Toolsexpand_moreexpand_less
Android App
Apple iOS AppYes
Education (Forex or CFDs)Yes
Daily Market CommentaryYes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)No
Economic CalendarYes

The value of an index at any point in time is determined by the combined prices or combined capitalization of stocks within that particular index. The index may be either a price-weighted average or a market-weighted average of all the stocks included in the index.

Each index essentially serves as a tracker of the overall performance of a particular portion of the market.

The Most Traded Stock Market Indices

Although there are many stock market indices, there are a few that are more regularly traded across the financial markets. Some of these indices are:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average – Commonly referred to as “the Dow”, this index includes stocks of the top 30 companies in the United States in terms of size and influence. The Dow is price-weighted which means that it derives its value from the weighted average of the prices of these 30 stocks. The value of the Dow represents approximately 25% of the value of the US stock market.
  • The S&P 500 Index – Standard and Poor’s 500 index is a portfolio of the 500 most traded stocks in the US stock market. Since the value of this index represents as much as 80% of the US stock market, it gives a good indication of the performance of the entire stock market. The S&P 500 is market-weighted rather than price-weighted. The value, therefore, depends on the market capitalization of the relevant stocks included.
  • The Wilshire 5000 index includes stocks of almost every publicly-traded company headquartered in the USA. Because of this, it is also referred to as the “total market” index.
  • The Nasdaq Composite Index – This index is more specialized than the others because it is comprised solely of technology stocks. It is market-weighted and includes all the stocks that are traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Not all stocks in the Nasdaq, are of companies that are headquartered in the US.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Trading Indices Through CFD Trading

Stock market indices are often traded through CFD trading. Trading indices via CFDs will allow the trader to trade on margin and to benefit from leverage. This means that the trader may purchase a certain number of contracts with a smaller account size, compared to what would be required to purchase each individual stock included in the index.

CFD brokers often offer margin to trade indices such as London Capital Group who offer margins as low as 0.20%. In addition to trading with leverage, a trader can both buy and sell contracts, giving the opportunity to benefit regardless of how the market is moving. Below are some of the trading conditions for Index futures with London Capital Group. For more details visit the LCG website.

*All information collected from https://www.lcg.com/uk/, see website for full terms and conditions. The example is for illustrative purposes only. Your capital is at risk. Last updated on February 1, 2017.

Another advantage of trading indices with a CFD broker like London Capital Group is that they usually do not charge a commission on the trades. The broker instead makes their profit from the spread.

One of the advantages of trading indices through CFD trading is also a disadvantage. Traders who decide to take advantage of the margin offered by brokers will have increased the upside when the trade goes in favor of the trader, however, the risks will also be magnified if a trade goes against them. Traders should therefore not trade more than they can afford to lose since they could lose 100% or more of their original investment.

Conclusion

Stock market indices are a statistical representation of a portion of the stock market. They may be price-weighted or market-weighted and often act as benchmarks of the performance of the market. A stock market index may be traded through CFD trading which may magnify returns, but may also magnify the risks.

BrokerNotes.co 2023 Overall Rankings

To recap, here are our top forex brokers for 2023, sorted by Overall ranking.

Company Overall Rating Minimum Deposit Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard Trust Score Tradeable Symbols (Total) Read Review Visit Site
IG logoIG 9.9 £250.00 0.86 99 19537 IG Review Visit Site
Saxo Bank logoSaxo Bank 9.7 €2,000 0.9 99 60000 Saxo Bank Review
Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers 9.7 $0 0.6 99 8500 Interactive Brokers Review
CMC Markets logoCMC Markets 9.6 $0 0.51 99 12377 CMC Markets Review
TD Ameritrade logoTD Ameritrade 9.5 $0 1.25 99 0 TD Ameritrade Review
FOREX.com logoFOREX.com 9.3 $100 1.0 99 5500 FOREX.com Review Visit Site
City Index logoCity Index 9.2 £100.00 1.0 99 13500 City Index Review
XTB logoXTB 9 $0 1.07 95 12000 XTB Group Review
eToro logoeToro 8.8 $10-$10,000 1 93 3458 eToro Review
Swissquote logoSwissquote 8.7 $1000 N/A 99 466 Swissquote Review
AvaTrade logoAvaTrade 8.6 $100 0.92 93 1260 AvaTrade Review
FXCM logoFXCM 8.5 Starts from $50 1.38 96 440 FXCM Review Visit Site
Plus500 logoPlus500 8.5 €100 0.8 98 2800 Plus500 Review
Capital.com logoCapital.com 8.4 $20 0.65 85 3152 Capital.com Review
XM Group logoXM Group 8.4 $5 1.6 90 1429 XM Group Review
Pepperstone logoPepperstone 8.4 $200 0.77 93 2342 Pepperstone Review
OANDA logoOANDA 8.4 $0 1.26 92 124 OANDA Review
Admiral Markets logoAdmiral Markets 8.3 $100 0.8 88 6942 Admiral Markets Review
FP Markets logoFP Markets 8.3 $100 AUD 1.2 86 10000 FP Markets Review
IC Markets logoIC Markets 8.2 $200 0.62 86 3583 IC Markets Review
Markets.com logoMarkets.com 8.2 $100 1.9 98 2179 Markets.com Review
FxPro logoFxPro 8.1 $100 1.51 90 2249 FxPro Review
Tickmill logoTickmill 8.0 $100 0.51 82 725 Tickmill Review
Fineco Bank logoFineco Bank 8.0 $0 N/A 92 126 Fineco Bank Review
BlackBull Markets logoBlackBull Markets 7.9 $0 0.827 74 26000 BlackBull Markets Review
DooPrime logoDooPrime 7.8 $100 N/A 84 10000 DooPrime Review
Vantage logoVantage 7.8 $50 1.30 89 1000 Vantage Review
BDSwiss logoBDSwiss 7.8 $100-$5000 1.6 83 1081 BDSwiss Review
TMGM logoTMGM 7.8 $100 0.96 79 12000 TMGM Review
HFM logoHFM 7.8 $0 1.2 85 3500 HFM Review
FlowBank logoFlowBank 7.7 $0.00 N/A 77 408600 FlowBank Review
HYCM (Henyep) logoHYCM (Henyep) 7.7 $100 0.6 86 362 HYCM Review
Trading 212 logoTrading 212 7.6 EUR 10 N/A 77 1785 Trading 212 Review
Eightcap logoEightcap 7.6 $100 1.0 87 736 Eightcap Review
Trade Nation logoTrade Nation 7.5 $0 0.6 83 601 Trade Nation Review
Moneta Markets logoMoneta Markets 7.5 $50 1.27 71 965 Moneta Markets Review
ThinkMarkets logoThinkMarkets 7.4 $250.00 N/A 86 1674 ThinkMarkets Review
VT Markets logoVT Markets 7.4 $200 1.2 71 168 VT Markets Review
ACY Securities logoACY Securities 7.4 $50 1.2 75 1600 ACY Securities Review
easyMarkets logoeasyMarkets 7.3 $100 0.9 84 199 a href="/reviews/easymarkets">easyMarkets Review
RoboForex (RoboMarkets) logoRoboForex (RoboMarkets) 7.3 $100 1.4 69 12000 Roboforex (RoboMarkets) Review
IronFX logoIronFX 7.2 $50 1.2 84 340 IronFX Review
Exness logoExness 7.2 $1 0.9 74 112 Exness Review
Spreadex logoSpreadex 7.2 $0 N/A 70 2000 Spreadex Review
Trade360 logoTrade360 7.1 $250 N/A 75 1062 Trade360 Review
AxiTrader logoAxiTrader 7.1 0 N/A 83 175 Axitrader Review
GKFX logoGKFX 7.1 $0 N/A 66 354 GKFX Review
Vestle logoVestle 7.1 -1 N/A 79 750 Vestle Review
OctaFX logoOctaFX 7 $25 0.9 69 229 OctaFX Review
FXOpen logoFXOpen 7 $100 N/A 80 87 FXOpen Review
TeleTrade logoTeleTrade 7 $100 N/A 67 500 Teletrade Review
FXPrimus logoFXPrimus 6.9 $100 N/A 69 140 FXPrimus Review Visit Site
Forex4you logoForex4you 6.9 $0 N/A 62 150 Forex4you Review
LegacyFX logoLegacyFX 6.9 $500 N/A 66 425 LegacyFX Review
GBE brokers logoGBE brokers 6.8 $500 N/A 69 500 GBE Brokers Review
Alpari logoAlpari 6.8 $20 N/A 67 105 Alpari Review
TopFX logoTopFX 6.7 Depends on payment method N/A 67 655 TopFX Review
Libertex (Forex Club) logoLibertex (Forex Club) 6.7 $10 N/A 72 300 Libertex Review
ATFX logoATFX 6.6 $500 N/A 70 150 ATFX Review
UFX logoUFX 6.6 $100 3 67 619 UFX Review
Xtrade logoXtrade 6.5 $250 N/A 80 142 Xtrade Review
Tradeo logoTradeo 6.4 $200 N/A 67 256 Tradeo Review
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