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Stock indices are statistical indicators that measure a number of underlying stocks. Often these are a number of the leading companies in a particular country or sector, with the ASX 200 representing the top two hundred stocks in Australia.

Although you can’t buy or sell stock indices themselves, traders can trade on the rise and fall of their value through derivatives, such as futures, options and CFDs.

CFDs are contracts where a trader must exchange the difference in value of a stock index (or another financial instrument) between the time at which the contract is opened, and the time at which it is closed. So if you bought a CFD on the Australia 200 at 4500 and sold it at 4650, you would make a profit of 150 points (excluding the trading spread, dividends, overnight financing fees, and any other charges).

Trading stock index CFDs has several benefits over trading conventional stocks:

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/the-benefits-of-trading-stock-indices-5708030.html

AP – Egypt’s benchmark stock index dropped to its lowest level in over a year on Thursday as a deepening political crisis in the Arab world’s most populous nation clouded its political future and prompted Moody’s Investors Service to push the government’s bond rating deeper into junk status.

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AP – MARKET RISES: Egypt’s benchmark stock index extended its gains for a third consecutive day Thursday after landmark parliamentary elections passed relatively peacefully.

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Reuters – Toronto’s main stock index closed lower on Friday as investors booked some profits after the TSX notched its biggest weekly gain in more than two years on optimism that steps were being taken to resolve Europe’s debt crisis.

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AP – Egypt’s benchmark stock index is extending its gains for the third consecutive day, after landmark parliamentary elections eased investor sentiment about the country’s political instability.

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AP – Egypt’s benchmark stock index rebounded on Wednesday, ending a 10-day losing streak as investors stepped in for bargains after escalating protests against the military rulers and violence battered the market and raised questions about the country’s political stability.

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Reuters – Toronto’s main stock index was higher shortly after the open on Friday as energy and gold-mining issues rose, offsetting fears that the euro zone’s debt crisis was deepening after another round of poor Italian and German bond sales.

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Reuters – Toronto’s main stock index fell to a seven-week low on Thursday as resource-related issues slid after a meeting of European leaders failed to stem market fears about the euro zone debt crisis.

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