Under the ‘umbrella’ of a single account it is possible to trade a wide variety of financial instruments in many continents throughout the world. Here are some examples of what and where you may trade. For a complete list of the Instruments and Markets your particular spreadbetting Company offers, see their Handbook or on-line help manual.

Markets

• UK
• USA
• Europe e.g. France, Germany
• Far East e.g. Japan
• Australasian e.g. Australia, New Zealand

Instruments

• Individual Stocks e.g. BT Group, Barclays, Microsoft, Intel, BNP, BMW, Deutche Telecom
• Stock Indices e.g. Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, FTSE100, FTSE 350, Nikkei, CAC, DAX, ASX etc.
• Sectors e.g. Banks, Oil, Pharmaceuticals, Telecoms, Tobacco
• Currencies e.g. £ vs. Euro, US$ vs. UK£, US$ vs. Euro, Swiss France vs. US$, US$ vs. AUS$
• Commodities e.g. Energy (Oil,) Metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum,) Softs (Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar)
• Options e.g. Worldwide Index Calls and Puts
• Other/Special e.g. Property Prices, Interest Rates, Binary Bets

Remember, this is not a comprehensive list and that not all the above Markets and Instruments will be offered by all the spreadbetting companies. Individuals often open an account with different spreadbetting companies then they can take advantage of different products in different accounts.

And of course some markets are more popular than others. Traditionally the most popular markets are individual shares and the indices. People who utilise spread bets usually come from a traditional share investing background so they’re used to the way stocks move. Currencies are also popular with UK traders – particularly the UK sterling, US dollar, euro, and the Japanese yen.

Also note, that if you spot an opportunity do not be afraid in asking your spreadbetting company if they are prepared to ‘make a market’ for you. This will often depend upon the liquidity of the instrument you wish to trade. For example, if this is an individual stock then market capitalisation may be taken into consideration and the ability to trade the stock.

Whatever you trade, please do be assured that you are entering into a contract that is based solely upon the price of the underlying instrument you are trading. You are not Buying or Selling Stocks or Gold or Currencies etc. – merely predicting a movement in price – you will never be in a position when you may have to take delivery of the actual Currency, Shares or Commodity.
etc!