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MARKET DIRECTORY

Explore the markets. Understand every move.

Discover the world's major market categories, understand how each one works, and explore the tools that help you research instruments and make informed trading decisions.

Learn about market structure, product features and trading risks before placing an order.

01 Discover market categories
02 Understand how they work
03 Explore trading tools
THE MARKET DIRECTORY

One platform. Multiple markets.

Every market has its own structure, trading conditions and risk profile. Start with the category you want to understand.

Learn how trading works
9 market categories Category descriptions
01 STK
Company markets

Stocks

Explore publicly traded companies and learn how their share prices respond to company results, economic conditions, industry developments and investor sentiment.

EXAMPLES

Individual listed companies and publicly traded equities.

HOW IT WORKS

Stock prices can move as expectations about a company change. Depending on the available product, trading may involve owning shares or trading a derivative that tracks a stock.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Company performance, valuation, earnings, market sentiment and trading costs.

Explore Stocks
02 SHR
Equity ownership

Shares

Understand shares as units of ownership in a company and learn how share prices, corporate announcements and market supply and demand affect their value.

EXAMPLES

Ordinary shares, preferred shares and listed company shares.

HOW IT WORKS

When shares are purchased directly, the buyer generally acquires ownership rights subject to the share class and applicable rules. Share-based derivatives may work differently.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Ownership rights, company disclosures, liquidity and the specific product being traded.

Explore Shares
03 FX
Currency markets

Forex

Explore the foreign exchange market, where currencies are quoted in pairs and exchange rates respond to interest rates, economic releases and global events.

EXAMPLES

EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY and other currency pairs.

HOW IT WORKS

A currency pair compares one currency with another. Its price shows how much of the quoted currency is required for one unit of the base currency.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Exchange-rate volatility, spreads, leverage, economic news and overnight financing where applicable.

Explore Forex
04 CRY
Digital assets

Cryptocurrency

Learn about digital assets that use cryptographic systems and distributed ledger technology, including the risks associated with highly volatile cryptocurrency markets.

EXAMPLES

Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets, where supported.

HOW IT WORKS

Prices can change in response to supply and demand, adoption, regulatory developments, liquidity and broader market sentiment. The rights attached to a product depend on its structure.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

High volatility, custody, liquidity, platform risk, regulatory developments and product structure.

Explore Cryptocurrency
05 IDX
Market benchmarks

Indices

Follow benchmarks designed to measure the performance of a group of securities, a particular market or a defined segment of an economy.

EXAMPLES

Broad-market, blue-chip, technology-focused and regional indices.

HOW IT WORKS

An index combines the performance of its constituents according to a defined methodology. You generally cannot purchase an index directly; exposure depends on the available product.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Constituent weighting, index methodology, concentration, market volatility and tracking differences.

Explore Indices
06 CMD
Physical goods

Commodities

Explore markets connected to raw materials and essential goods whose prices can be influenced by production, inventories, weather, transportation and global demand.

EXAMPLES

Gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas and agricultural products.

HOW IT WORKS

Commodity exposure may come through physical ownership, futures contracts or other financial products. These structures have different costs, obligations and risks.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Supply disruptions, storage costs, seasonality, geopolitical events and futures-contract expiration.

Explore Commodities
07 FUT
Contract markets

Futures

Understand standardized contracts linked to an underlying asset, index or commodity, with defined contract terms and expiration dates.

EXAMPLES

Commodity futures, equity index futures and interest-rate futures.

HOW IT WORKS

A futures contract establishes terms for a transaction at a specified future date. Exchange-traded futures commonly use margin and daily settlement mechanisms.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Leverage, margin requirements, expiration, contract size, settlement and rollover costs.

Explore Futures
08 ETF
Exchange-traded funds

ETFs

Discover exchange-traded funds, which hold portfolios of assets or aim to track a particular index, sector, commodity or investment strategy.

EXAMPLES

Broad-market, sector, bond and commodity ETFs.

HOW IT WORKS

ETF shares trade on an exchange. Their prices are influenced by market supply and demand and the value of their underlying holdings or reference assets.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Expense ratios, tracking error, liquidity, portfolio holdings and market-price premiums or discounts.

Explore ETFs
09 BND
Fixed-income markets

Bonds

Explore debt securities issued by governments, municipalities and companies to raise capital under defined borrowing terms.

EXAMPLES

Government bonds, corporate bonds and other debt securities.

HOW IT WORKS

Bond prices respond to interest rates, credit quality, maturity and liquidity. When market interest rates rise, existing fixed-rate bond prices generally fall, all else equal.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Credit risk, interest-rate sensitivity, maturity, inflation and liquidity.

Explore Bonds
THE PROCESS

How trading works.

Trading involves researching a market, evaluating the risks of a particular instrument and managing the resulting position if an order is executed.

ST
Know before you trade. Research. Evaluate. Manage.
01

Choose a market

Select a market category and identify an instrument that matches your trading objective and understanding.

02

Research the instrument

Review available prices, charts, market conditions, product specifications, trading hours and costs.

03

Review the trade

Where live trading is supported, check direction, order type, quantity, margin requirements and potential downside.

04

Monitor the position

If an order is submitted and accepted, monitor its actual status and manage any resulting position using the controls supported by the trading platform.

A CLOSER LOOK

What happens when you place a trade?

A trade begins with an instruction submitted through a supported trading platform. The system validates the order against its applicable rules and sends it to the relevant execution venue or service.

An order may be accepted, rejected, partially filled or remain pending. The outcome depends on the order type, market conditions, liquidity and the execution system.

Once execution is confirmed, the platform should report the actual order status and any resulting position. Submitting an order does not itself guarantee execution.

ORDER WORKFLOW

From instruction to outcome

↗
01
Order submitted An instruction is sent to the trading system.
02
Validation The order is checked against applicable rules.
03
Execution attempt The order is processed according to the execution system.
04
Confirmed status The platform reports the authoritative outcome.

This is an explanatory workflow, not a live order tracker or a representation of an actual transaction.

THE TOOLKIT

Tools for more informed decisions.

Understand the purpose of the tools commonly associated with market research and trading. Actual availability depends on the connected platform features and data services.

01

Market search

Find a market category or supported instrument by name, symbol or keyword.

Use search and filters to narrow the directory. Actual instrument availability depends on the connected platform.

02

Price charts

Study historical price movements and observe how an instrument has behaved over a selected period.

Chart availability, timeframes, indicators and update frequency depend on the market-data and charting services.

03

Watchlists

Keep frequently reviewed instruments together so they are easier to find and monitor.

A persistent watchlist requires a supported watchlist feature and, where applicable, a signed-in account.

04

Order controls

Review order instructions, quantities and available order types before submitting a trade.

Market, limit, stop and other order types are available only where supported by the relevant trading system.

05

Risk management

Evaluate potential losses, position size, leverage and the effect of changing market prices.

Risk controls help structure decisions but cannot eliminate market risk or guarantee an exit price.

06

Demo trading

Practice an available simulated trading workflow before placing real-money trades.

Demo trading must be clearly identified as simulated. Simulated results do not guarantee live-market outcomes.

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

Different markets. Different considerations.

Before choosing an instrument, consider its underlying asset, trading hours, liquidity, volatility, costs and product structure.

Compare market categories
01
Understand the underlying asset

Know what determines the value of the instrument and how it is priced.

02
Review costs and liquidity

Examine spreads, commissions, trading hours and the ability to enter or exit.

03
Evaluate potential losses

Understand volatility, leverage, margin requirements and possible downside.

04
Check product availability

Confirm the actual instrument, execution method and trading conditions offered by the platform.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Start with knowledge. Trade with a plan.

Explore the available markets, learn the fundamentals and understand the risks before considering a trading decision.

Trading involves risk.

Financial markets can be volatile, and you may lose some or all of the money you commit to trading. Leveraged products can magnify both gains and losses. Availability, costs, execution and investor protections vary by product and jurisdiction. Understand the applicable terms and risk disclosures before trading.

Read the risk disclosure