The NASDAQ 100 is one of the most famous indices in the world, boasting companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla. Learn the different ways to trade the NASDAQ 100 with us.
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If you’d like to trade the NASDAQ 100, follow these three steps, or read our full guide below:
1. Decide how you'd like to trade on the index
There are several ways to get exposure to the NASDAQ 100 – including trading in ETFs and shares, or trading on the index’s value using our proprietary product, the US Tech 100.
2. Create a trading plan
Before taking a position on the NASDAQ 100, you'll need to decide whether you're a short- or long-term trader – and how you're going to manage your risk.
3. Open a live account
Then, open and fund a CFD trading account - just fill in our application form.
With us, there are a number of ways to gain exposure to the NASDAQ 100 (known on our platform as the US Tech 100) – so you can choose the one that suits you best.
You can:
Trade the performance of USA’s largest domestic and international companies from a single position. Using our platform, you can trade our ‘US Tech 100’ – an exclusive product based on the performance of the NASDAQ 100. Trading on the index’s price is more liquid than trading it in other ways, and you can trade 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
You’d trade the US Tech 100 on leverage using CFDs, without having to own any actual shares. Instead, you’ll put down a deposit to open a larger position, with profits and losses calculated on the full position size. This means your profits and losses can significantly outweigh your margin amount, so ensure you use risk management tools (like stop losses) when trading.
You can go long if you think the price will rise or short if you think the price will fall.
CFDs are commission-free when you trade our US Tech 100, as charges are in the spread.
Gain broad exposure to the entire NASDAQ 100 by trading an ETF that tracks the price of the index. This means you won’t trade on the current price of the NASDAQ, but rather the ETF’s price, calculated on its net asset value (NAV).
You could also trade NASDAQ ETFs on leverage with CFDs, but bear in mind this offers lower liquidity and higher spreads than trading the index via our US Tech 100. Leveraged trades mean you can go long or short on NASDAQ ETFs. However, total profits or losses can significantly outweigh your margin amount, as both are based on the total position size.
Trading the NASDAQ index directly | Trading a NASDAQ ETF | Trading NASDAQ shares | |
Account types | CFD trading account. | CFD trading account. | CFD trading account. |
Market hours | 24 hours a day Monday to Friday and until 6am on Saturday. Extended hours from 5pm to 9am (UTC+8) | When the NASDAQ 100 is open in the US – 10.30pm to 5am, Monday to Thursday and 10.30pm on Friday to 5am on Saturday (UTC+8).
Markets for all sessions stocks are available from 4pm to 8am, Monday to Thursday and 4pm Friday to 5am Saturday (UTC+8). |
When the NASDAQ 100 is open in the US – 10.30pm to 5am, Monday to Thursday and 10.30pm on Friday to 5am on Saturday (UTC+8).
Markets for all sessions stocks are available from 4pm to 8am, Monday to Thursday and 4pm Friday to 5am Saturday (UTC+8). |
Timeframe | Short to medium term. | Short to medium term for trading. | Short to medium term for trading. |
Liquidity and execution | 0.0014 second execution speed and unique deep liquidity | Higher liquidity offered by trading the index directly | Higher liquidity offered by trading the index directly |
Costs | Commission-free, charges in the spread. Trading the NASDAQ on the spot (cash) incurs overnight fees, but index futures don’t incur these fees. |
Commission charge of 2 cents per share. Cash (spot) ETF trades incur overnight fees, but none for ETF forwards. | Minimum $15 commission for share CFD trade. Cash (spot) trading incurs overnight fees. |
If you’re ready to start trading the NASDAQ 100, follow these five steps:
You can open a CFD trading account on our platform.
You can trade CFD index futures, options and more with us.
Trading CFDs on the NASDAQ 100
When trading contracts for difference (CFDs) on the NASDAQ 100, you’re entering into a contract to speculate on the price of the NASDAQ 100 or share prices of the companies listed on the exchange. The amount the price of what you’re trading rises or falls (so, the difference between the price when you open versus when you close your position) determines your profit or loss.
One way to trade the US Tech 100 using CFDs is on the spot (cash) price.
Trading the spot price means you get the closer pricing to the real time NASDAQ 100 than you would with futures, as prices are based off our future’s price with a fair value adjustment to get as close to the real time cash price as possible, plus low spreads and no commission on indices.
As spot trading does come with overnight funding fees if you leave a position open overnight, this form of trading is best suited to short- and medium-term strategies.
To open a US Tech 100 spot position:
With options you have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the contract on or before its expiry date. When you trade options via CFDs, you’ll pay an initial deposit to open a larger position. You’ll then speculate on the option’s price for a profit or loss – but note that when selling an option, losses can significantly outweigh your deposit amount.
Remember, buying options is limited risk as you’ll only risk as much as your margin paid, but selling a call option is technically unlimited risk, as there’s no restriction to how much a market’s price can rise.
To open a CFD options position:
When you trade futures with us, you won’t pay additional overnight funding charges or commission, as the cost is built into the spread. This is why futures have wider spreads than spot positions.
Trading index futures via CFDs means you’re agreeing to trade our US Tech 100 at a specific price on a specific date in the future. To open a futures position:
If you want to gain exposure to a broad range of NASDAQ 100 shares all in one place, you can trade ETFs. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are investment instruments that track the performance of a range of NASDAQ stocks, to give you variety with very low commissions.
ETF commissions start from 2 cents per share on each side of a CFD trade with a minimum fee of $15 for online orders. Just bear in mind that you’ll be trading on the cash (spot) price with ETFs, so there are funding charges you could incur if you leave your position open overnight.
To open a NASDAQ 100 ETF position:
For those who don’t want broad exposure, but rather have their eye on a particular NASDAQ-listed company, try CFD share trading.
With CFD share trading, you won’t own company shares outright. Unlike owning company shares, which means you can only make a profit if the share price goes up, you can go long or short.
While owning shares means paying the full share price upfront, CFD trading is leveraged. This means you’ll pay only a small deposit amount (called margin) to open a larger position.
However, as profits and losses will be calculated based on your total position size, these can substantially outweigh your margin amount, so ensure you always trade within your means.
CFD share trading has a minimum commission charge of $15.
To open a shares position, simply go to the CFD trading platform and:
The key to making a profit on the NASDAQ 100 is knowing the right moment to open and close a position. For this, you need to have a good understanding of the index itself – including what drives the NASDAQ 100 price up or down.
Some of the main factors that affect the NASDAQ 100 price include:
Ultimately, if the above cause rises in NASDAQ 100-listed companies share prices – particularly larger companies like Microsoft, Amazon or Apple – the index’s price will climb. If the companies’ share prices by and large fall, so will the NASDAQ 100.
Once you understand what moves the NASDAQ 100, have created your trading account and are ready to open positions, it’s time to perfect your NASDAQ 100 trading strategy.
Here are six things you can do to up your game on the NASDAQ 100:
There are still many things to learn about an index as well-traded as the NASDAQ 100. Here are just a few more answers to common questions:
The NASDAQ’s normal market hours are 9.30am to 4pm EST (Eastern Standard Time), which is 10.30pm to 5am UTC+8. However with us, you can trade 24 hours a day, from Monday to Friday, to best take advantage of significant market events that may not keep office hours, like earnings season.
The NASDAQ price is determined by a host of factors, most importantly its constituent companies’ latest share prices. The constituent companies of the NASDAQ are the 100 largest non-financial companies (for example, not banks) on the NASDAQ stock exchange by market capitalisation. This, plus other factors, are calculated into an average value for the stock exchange as a whole.
The NASDAQ is a modified capitalisation-weighted index. This means that not all NASDAQ stocks have equal weighting but, rather, the largest stocks will contribute a higher percentage to the total aggregate. So, if Apple’s share price goes up significantly and Apple is one of the largest stocks by market cap on the NASDAQ, the NASDAQ price will almost definitely go up too.
What are the ways you can trade the NASDAQ?
There are a few ways you can trade the NASDAQ 100 with us. You can open a CFD trading account and trade on the NASDAQ 100 via our exclusive US Tech 100. Alternatively, you can use CFDs to trade on NASDAQ 100-listed stocks or a NASDAQ ETF. You can also trade the NASDAQ via options or futures.
What are the stocks on the NASDAQ 100?
The NASDAQ 100 is comprised of the 100 biggest companies (or 102 biggest securities, if you want to get technical) trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the United States. These include household names like Google’s Alphabet Inc, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla.
How do companies join the NASDAQ 100?
Companies come onto the NASDAQ 100 automatically. This is because the NASDAQ 100 is a capitalisation-weighted index. This means that, if a company is listed exclusively on the NASDAQ, it is weighed by size (market cap) and the 100 biggest companies by market cap on the NASDAQ exchange are included in the NASDAQ 100 automatically.
Each year, the NASDAQ 100 index is reranked in this way. So, all a company needs to do to ‘join’ the NASDAQ 100 list is be of the 100 biggest companies listed on the exchange in that year.
Note that they must be non-financial companies, as insurers, banks and other financial firms are instead included on the separate NASDAQ Financial 100 index.