Inventory merchants, buyers, and hedgers have lengthy recognized the worth of inventory index futures. Merchants can entry exposures to a whole nation’s fairness markets or a particular sector inside it by means of numerous inventory index futures benchmarks.

Simply as an investor can entry the broad U.S. market by means of numerous iterations of the S&P 500 futures, the biggest blue chip shares by means of the Dow Jones futures, or the expertise sector by means of the Nasdaq 100, market contributors can entry many European and international fairness benchmarks by means of Eurex’s household of inventory index futures.

Eurex is the main European derivatives alternate and clearing agency. It provides market liquidity, effectivity, and integrity by offering clients with modern options to seamlessly handle threat. Via its derivatives alternate and clearing arm, Eurex has pioneered merchandise and infrastructures, providing a broad vary of worldwide benchmark merchandise and that includes open and low-cost digital entry.​

Eurex Indexes

Eurex provides an all-encompassing suite of worldwide, regional, and thematic inventory indexes that allow merchants to diversify their investments or acquire extra publicity to particular areas of their portfolio. With its built-in clearing, cross-margining, and an enormous pool of merchandise and liquidity, Eurex provides a single level of entry right into a sea of liquidity, offering operational and monetary effectivity. Eurex’s benchmark indexes are among the many most liquid exchange-traded derivatives and appeal to a world community of market contributors.

These indexes embrace the next merchandise and product households.

DAX® futures

The DAX® Inventory Index represents Germany’s largest 40 shares. Eurex provides the DAX® Index Futures (FDAX), a Mini-DAX® (FDXM) that’s one-fifth the dimensions of the massive contract, and a Micro-DAX® (FDXS) that’s one-fifth the dimensions of the Mini.

Along with futures and choices on the DAX® with numerous threat thresholds, Eurex provides futures on its mid-cap index (MDAX). The index tracks the efficiency of the 50 shares that observe DAX® corporations when it comes to measurement or that aren’t eligible for DAX® inclusion. The Mini MDAX futures (FSMX) have a tick worth of €1, so it’s extra aligned with the Micro-DAX® than the Mini.

Retail merchants can hedge publicity to mid-cap corporations or make a wager on the mid-cap sector versus giant caps by spreading the FSMX with the FDXS.

Eurex additionally provides futures on its TecDAX Index, which incorporates the 30 largest corporations categorized as belonging to the “expertise” sector and that fulfill minimal high quality necessities. The tick worth of the TecDAX futures (FTDX) is €5. Merchants can entry the expertise sector or break up that sector off (or double up) by buying and selling it versus the Mini or Micro-DAX®. Eurex additionally provides futures on its sustainability index DAX® 50 ESG.

EURO STOXX 50®

The EURO STOXX 50® is an index of the biggest 50 shares within the Eurozone, and the EURO STOXX 50® Futures (FESX) is the Eurozone’s benchmark inventory index.

The EURO STOXX 50® Index Quanto Futures (FESQ) is an identical to the extremely liquid EURO STOXX 50 Index Futures (FESX), with the exception that it trades in U.S. {dollars}. Each contracts expire at the very same index degree on the third Friday of March, June, September, or December.

Eurex has launched Micro EURO STOXX 50® futures that commerce at 1/20 the gearing of the massive contract (see specs beneath).

The STOXX® Europe 50 Index Futures (FSTX) is a contract based mostly on an index of the biggest 50 corporations in Europe. This index included corporations based mostly in the UK.

The EURO STOXX 50® ex Financials Index Futures (FEXF) follows the identical protocols because the EURO STOXX 50® however excludes monetary sector shares.

Eurex additionally lists 23 separate sector-specific index futures.

Contract values and value gradations:

Contract
Contract Worth
Minimal value
Change

Factors
Worth

EURO STOXX 50® Index Futures
EUR 10
1
EUR 10

Micro EURO STOXX 50® Index Futures
EUR 10
0.5
EUR 5

EURO STOXX 50® Index Quanto Futures
USD 10
1
USD 10

EURO STOXX 50® ex Financials Index Futures
EUR 10
0.5
EUR 5

STOXX® Europe 50 Index Futures
EUR 10
1
EUR 10

FTSE 100 Product Suite

Eurex lists futures on FTSE 100 Index (FTUK). The FTSE 100 is a inventory index of the biggest shares listed on the London Inventory Alternate based mostly on market capitalization. It additionally lists futures on a declared dividend FTSE 100 Index (FTDD) and the FTSE 100 Whole Return Index (TTUK).

MSCI Indexes

MSCI indexes are a number of the world’s most generally tracked benchmarks and linked to greater than $16.3 trillion in property underneath administration. The indexes additionally function the idea for over 1,300 Alternate Traded Funds (ETFs). The huge quantity of capital benchmarked towards MSCI indexes and the improved tradability of index-based merchandise through ETFs has led to an elevated want for futures and choices. MSCI derivatives assist managers facilitate in and outflows of funds, hedge present fairness publicity, and improve portfolio efficiency.

Eurex is the one alternate providing a complete suite of merchandise consisting of futures and choices on regional and nation indexes. Presently, 160 MSCI futures and 32 MSCI choices can be found, protecting rising and developed markets in several index sorts and completely different currencies (EUR, USD, GBP, and JPY).

Buying and selling Liquid Markets

Though the universe of index futures supplied by means of Eurex is extraordinarily broad, the core markets appropriate to retail merchants embrace the Mini and Micro-DAX® suites of merchandise in addition to the Micro-EURO STOXX 50®. Extra subtle merchants can look into the FTSE merchandise and the sector-specific EURO STOXX futures.

“These are all large merchandise,” says Dan Gramza, President of Gramza Capital Administration, who’s a dealer and guide to home and worldwide shoppers. “They really present the chance to diversify publicity outdoors of the US.”

A key to using these merchandise—each when it comes to market traits and in relation to their affect on U.S. markets—is figuring out when these merchandise lead or lag the U.S. market, in keeping with Gramza. “The quantity of lead or lag can present a novel alternative for commerce entry. The lead or lag could be outlined when it comes to magnitude of change in addition to time,” Gramza says. “The buying and selling methods that you’d make the most of for U.S. home indexes can apply to those markets. The explanation for that is, generally, these markets are inclined to observe the identical rhythm which suggests indicators which can be getting used on U.S. home indexes may also work on these European merchandise.”

In fact, buying and selling Euro-based monetary markets means you could perceive the elemental elements and financial studies that can have an effect on these markets.

Anybody buying and selling U.S. monetary markets understands the significance of understanding when main financial studies are launched. The U.S. employment scenario report, GDP, and Shopper Worth Index all could cause main disruptions in U.S. based mostly inventory indexes or Treasury futures. That is significantly true for short-term day or swing merchants who’re much less capable of face up to a short-term volatility spike. These merchants ought to most likely be flat going into these studies. Even longer-term merchants have to know the market expectations of those studies to handle their trades.

Anybody buying and selling any of those euro-based inventory indexes must familiarize themselves with the German- and European-based indicators that may have an effect on markets. The StoneX calendar is an efficient useful resource for essential occasions that might affect DAX® and Euro Stoxx futures or any market you’re buying and selling.

Eurex provides a broad and liquid group of inventory indexes that gives alternatives to create alpha and diversify your buying and selling. Gramza notes that the very best time to commerce the DAX® and EURO STOXX 50® is usually in the course of the first two hours of the Eurex buying and selling session and the final two hours as a result of each durations usually supply the best liquidity and volatility.