What Is the Nikkei 225?
The Nikkei 225 tracks 225 major Japanese companies weighted by share price, so a few high-priced stocks dominate. How it works, its cap and what moves it.
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Why It Took the Nikkei 34 Years to Regain Its 1989 Peak
The Nikkei closed at 38,915.87 in December 1989, fell 82% by 2008 and only regained the peak in February 2024. What drove the bubble, slump and recovery.
What Is Market Breadth?
Market breadth measures how many stocks take part in a move. How the advance-decline line and equal-weight comparisons work, and why narrow rallies are fragile.
What Happened to Stock Markets in the March 2020 Crash?
The S&P 500 fell about 34% in 23 trading days in 2020, triggering circuit breakers four times, then bottomed on March 23 and recovered by August.
How to Plan Index Trades Around Market Opens
Check overnight futures, note the gap, expect wide spreads early, let an opening range form, then trade with defined risk: planning index trades at the open.
How Index Rebalancing Works and Why It Moves Stocks
Index providers add, remove and reweight members, and tracking funds must trade. Why rebalancing moves stocks, with Tesla's 2020 S&P 500 entry as example.
Index Futures vs Index CFDs
Index futures trade on exchanges in fixed sizes with expiries and clearing; index CFDs offer flexible sizes and daily financing. A side-by-side comparison.
Why a Handful of Stocks Can Drive an Entire Index
In cap-weighted indices the largest companies dominate: the S&P 500's top 10 hit a record 40.7% in 2025. Why it happens and what it means for index risk.
How Stock Index CFDs Work
An index CFD tracks an index such as the S&P 500 or DAX in points. How long and short index CFDs work, value per point, margin limits, financing and risks.
How to Calculate the Value of a Point on an Index CFD
P&L = points moved × value per point; position value = index level × value per point. Worked examples on a US index at 5,000 and a European index in euros.
Common Mistakes When Trading Index CFDs
Grading an index CFD trade plan on six points: position value, the open, holding costs, concentration, leverage and correlated indices, with fixes.
How Index Dividends Are Adjusted on a CFD Position
When index members go ex-dividend, the index drops; cash index CFDs offset it with dividend points × value per point. How it works, with a worked example.