Trade Indices:
Nasdaq, S&P, FTSE

Indices You Can Trade

NAS100 appears as US100 on many charts, so a US100 funded account and a NAS100 account describe the same market. The S&P 500 is the broadest of the three and the usual benchmark for US stocks, while the FTSE 100 gives you exposure to the UK market during London hours.

Whether you came looking for a Nasdaq prop firm or for S&P 500 prop trading, the setup on Pivex is the same. You hold one position on the US market, with leverage of 1:5 and loss limits that are set before you place a trade.

What Is Inside Each Index

The Nasdaq 100 leans heavily toward technology, communication services and consumer companies, and a handful of very large firms make up a big share of its weight. That concentration is why NAS100 often moves more than the broader market, in both directions.

The S&P 500 spreads across technology, health care, financials, industrials, energy and the rest of the economy. Technology is still its largest sector, so it often moves with the Nasdaq 100, usually by a smaller percentage.

The FTSE 100 looks different. Energy, mining, banks, consumer staples and pharmaceuticals carry much of its weight, and many of its companies earn most of their revenue abroad. A weaker pound often supports the index, because those overseas earnings are worth more in sterling.

What Moves Indices

• Earnings seasons: four times a year listed companies report results, and reports from the largest members can move a whole index, NAS100 in particular.
• Interest rates and bond yields: higher yields raise the cost of capital and lower the present value of future profits, which tends to hit growth-heavy indices hardest.
• Economic data: inflation, jobs and business surveys change the outlook for both rates and corporate profits.
• Central bank meetings: rate decisions and press conferences from the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England can shift the mood in minutes.
• Risk sentiment: in confident markets indices tend to climb steadily, while in fearful ones they can fall fast, and declines are often sharper than rallies.

Sessions and the Opening Hour

Index CFDs follow the sessions of their home markets: NAS100 and SPX500 with the US market, UK100 with London. Session times shift with daylight saving and holidays, so the platform's Market Hours panel is the place to check the current schedule.

The first hour of the home market's cash session is usually the busiest part of the day. Orders that built up overnight reach the market at once, ranges widen and prices can swing both ways before a direction settles. Some traders wait for that first stretch to pass, while others trade the open on purpose with smaller size.

Planning With a Static 6% Maximum Loss

The maximum loss at Pivex is 6% of the starting balance, and it is static: the floor never moves. On a $25K account the level to stay above is $23,500 from the first trade to the last, however much the account grows. That gives you a fixed number to plan against instead of a limit that follows your best balance upward.

1. 1Know your floorWrite down the level set by the maximum loss: $9,400 on a $10K account, $23,500 on $25K, $47,000 on $50K and $94,000 on $100K.
2. 2Measure your bufferSubtract the floor from your current balance. Profit you have built adds to the buffer, because the floor stays where it is.
3. 3Set a worst case for each holdBefore you keep an index position through a close, estimate the loss from a large gap and check that it fits inside both the buffer and the daily limit.
4. 4Resize, then holdIf the worst case is too large, cut the position before the close instead of hoping the gap goes your way.

Risk Habits for Index Traders

• Know when the largest companies in your index report, and treat those dates like scheduled news.
• NAS100 and SPX500 often move together, so opening both in the same direction is closer to one larger trade than to two ideas.
• Check the economic calendar for rate decisions and inflation data before each session.
• Keep each position within the size limit for one instrument, which the Help Center explains.
• Close all trades when the account reaches the 10% profit target.

More Markets and Features

Indices are one of five Pivex markets, and the same Challenge rules apply to all of them. If you prefer trading single companies, stock CFDs follow exchange hours too; to compare account sizes from $10K to $100K, see the pricing page.