ASX 200 Trading

The ASX 200, as it’s also commonly known, is an index that tracks the leading 200 Australian companies by market capitalization listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney, Australia. The ASX 200 is Australia’s premier index, and is one of the world’s leading indexes. Securities from any industry may be included in the ASX 200, with the major industries to be represented being financials, materials, industrials, consumer, healthcare, telecommunications, energy, consumer, utilities and information technology stocks.

The ASX 200 was launched on 31 March, 2000, with an original price level of 3133.3 points and less than 7 years later the value of the ASX 200 had almost doubled by reaching the milestone of 6,000 on 15 February, 2007. Today the ASX 200 is Australia’s leading stock index, and one of the major stock indices in Asian and Australasian regions. Standard and Poor’s launched and have maintained the index since the year 2000, with rebalancing to determine those companies being included in the index being completed every quarter.

The ASX 200 is composed of a highly dynamic range of securities, and the total number being included often varies from 200. The index represents the largest companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and constitutes roughly 80% of the total value of the ASX. A wide variety of industries are represented by the ASX 200, including materials, financials, utilities and industrials, with global giants such as Macquarie Group, Orica Ltd., and Qantas being included in the index.

The Australian Securities Exchange is one of the largest and most well-known stock markets in the world, and although it is one of the younger indices to be created, it has performed strongly since the end of 2008’s global financial crisis until today. Australia is a country with one of the world’s strongest economies, and with an abundance of natural resources. Traders that are particularly interested in the mining and resources sectors can invest into a basket of 200 securities, with many being some of the largest mining giants in the world.

The ASX 200 is a free float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted index. This means that a floating factor is applied where the amount of a stock that is floating, or the number of shares publicly available for trading, determines the impact it has on the value of the index. Being market-capitalization-weighted simply means that the index value is calculated by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares by each of the securities’ last sale prices, and adding more or less weight to each stock, depending on the size of each of the other securities in the index.

The ASX 200 is a stock index rather than a single company stock which means that the growth of the index is pushed along by over a hundred companies. For traders, this means the risk is mitigated as one company’s poor performance won’t impact the index too much, and when there is a growth in macroeconomic factors, most of the top companies will benefit together Optimum Hills’s ultra-fast order execution and its stable, reliable trading engine ensures the tightest spreads and best trading experience. The trading platform is packed with advanced trading tools, such as long and short positions, advanced order types such as stop loss and take profit orders. The platform is also safe, secure, and offers 24/7 customer support service via a live chat, community channels, and much more.

The best way to invest in the Australian stock market is through an index called the ASX 200. It is an index of all major AU companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Trading the ASX is possible using CFDs and is a better option than investing alone. Trading lets investors profit from markets both ways, rather than only through buying and hold strategies.

Volatility tends to pick up when Aussie traders first start their trading days or close out a day at their desks. Therefore, at open and close is when the ASX is most volatile.

The ASX 200 trades using the XJO ticker symbol predominantly. However, it also trades as the ASX and ASX 200 on Optimum Hills using CFDs.