Trading Product
Indices CFDs
Benchmark exposure, not share ownership
An index measures a basket of shares. An index CFD follows that measurement, so one position reflects the basket as a whole instead of a single company — without owning any of the shares.
Why trade Indices CFDs with DXM
Price exposure only
Your result is the price difference on the contract, not delivery of an asset.
Long or short
Open in either direction; losses grow if the market moves against you.
Margin and leverage
Margin is a deposit against exposure, not a cap on it, and applies per instrument.
Conditions where they are binding
Instrument list, sizes, spreads and hours come from your account terms and the platform.
What is it?
A stock index is a measurement: it tracks a basket of shares, weighted by a published rule, to summarise how a market or a sector is performing.
An index CFD follows that measurement. You do not own any of the shares in the basket and you have no shareholder rights — you hold a contract on the index value.
How it works
Identify the reference
Each index instrument states which reference it follows. Two instruments on the same market can behave differently if their references differ.
Understand the type
Index CFDs are generally priced either from a continuous cash reference or from a dated futures reference. These are two different concepts, and which type exists for your account is defined by your contract terms — not assumed.
Size and margin
Exposure comes from contract size multiplied by the index level, and margin is a deposit held against that exposure.
Manage the position
Long or short, you can attach protective orders. Index prices react to broad events, so positions can move outside your screen time.
Key concepts
Index versus index CFD
The index itself is a number you cannot buy. The CFD is a contract on that number, with no ownership of the constituent shares.
Composition and weighting
Each index has a rule for which shares it contains and how much each one counts. That rule determines what actually drives the price.
Concentration
A few heavily weighted members can dominate an index, so a 'diversified' instrument can still be sensitive to a handful of companies.
Earnings and macro events
Results from large members, interest rate decisions and economic data move indices, often abruptly.
Spread, margin and leverage
The spread is the entry cost, margin is the deposit required, and leverage scales your result in both directions.
Long and short
An index CFD can be traded in either direction, and loss is possible in both.
Sessions and gaps
Index instruments have defined hours and breaks. News outside those hours often shows up as a gap when trading resumes.
Risk warning
CFDs are leveraged instruments. Margin is a deposit, not a limit on your exposure, so losses can exceed your initial margin and in fast markets your position can close at a worse price than expected. Spreads, financing and other costs reduce your result. Prices can gap over weekends, holidays and news events, and a stop order is an instruction to close — not a guarantee of the price it fills at.
DXM Asterion
Trade Indices CFDs with DXM Asterion
DXM Asterion is the trading environment for approved clients. It is browser-based, so there is nothing to install.
- Live quotes for the instruments enabled on your account
- Interactive charts with drawing and timeframe tools
- Open positions with running profit and loss
- Pending orders you can place, edit or cancel
- Account and margin information in one panel
- Trade and transaction history
A visible quote or chart does not guarantee live execution: an instrument is tradable only when it is enabled for your account and the market is open.
An application does not open an account. It is reviewed by our onboarding team first, and access is granted only if it is approved.
Frequently asked questions
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Send a live account application for review, or explore the platform with a demo first.