Best Brokers For Trading NIKKEI 225

The Ultimate Guide to

Choosing a Broker
For Trading NIKKEI 225

Not sure which broker is right for you?

Don’t worry - we’ve got you covered. In this guide, you’ll learn:

• Why City Index scored high for trading nikkei 225 (Jump to section)
• Who City Index is (and isn’t) suitable for (Jump to section)
• An in-depth feature comparison of the top #3 brokers (Jump to section)
• An overview on trading nikkei 225 (Jump to section)

Ready?

Part 1

Why Choose City Index
For Trading NIKKEI 225?

City Index scored best in our review of the top brokers for trading nikkei 225, which takes into account 120+ factors across eight categories. Here are some areas where City Index scored highly in:

City Index offers three ways to trade: Forex, CFDs, Spread Betting. If you wanted to trade NIKKEI225 through copy trading or other means, skip to part two.

The two most important categories in our rating system are the cost of trading and the broker’s trust score. To calculate a broker’s trust score, we take into account a range of factors, including their regulation history, years in business, liquidity provider etc.

City Index have a A trust score, which is good. This is largely down to them being regulated by Financial Conduct Authority, ASiC and MAS, segregating client funds, being established for over 34 years, and much more. For comparison:

Trust Score comparsion

The second thing we look for is the competitiveness of the spreads, and what fees they charge. We've compared these in detail in part three of this guide.

Part 2

Who City Index is (& Isn’t)
Suitable For

As mentioned, City Index allows you to trade in three ways: Forex, CFDs, Spread Betting.

To trade with City Index, you'll need a minimum deposit of $100. City Index offers a range of different account types for different traders including a micro account, mini account, .

Finally, City Index isn't available in the following countries: CF, TD, CG, CG, CI, CU, GN, ER, GN, FR, GW, HT, IR, IQ, KR, LB, LR, LY, MM, NZ, NG, SL, SO, SD, SY, TM, UZ, VE, EH, YE, ZW. They do not offer islamic accounts either.

Part 3

A Comparison of City Index vs. vs.

Want to see how City Index stacks up against and ? We've compared their spreads, features, and key information below.

Spread & fee comparsion

Comparison of account & trading features

Part 4

Trading the Nikkei 225 Index: What is the Nikkei 225

The Nikkei Index, also known as the Nikkei 225 in reference to the total number of components, is a market index used as a measure of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

It is the most popular and quoted indices of Japanese equities and its name is derived from the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper which has been responsible for the calculation of the index since 1950.

It is the Japanese equivalent of the American Dow Jones Industrial Average, and for a while (from 1975 to 1985), it has even been referred to as the Nikkei Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Nikkei 225 Constituents

The 225 components of the Nikkei Index as at February, 2017 include 11 food companies, 10 automotive companies, 5 textiles and apparel companies, 5 precision instrument companies, 3 pulp and paper companies, 3 manufacturing companies, 17 chemical companies, 2 fishery companies, one mining company, 9 construction companies, 7 trading companies, 8 pharmaceutical companies, 8 retail companies, 2 oil and coal product companies, 11 banks, 2 rubber product companies, 8 glass and ceramic companies, 3 securities companies, 6 steel product companies, 6 insurance companies, 12 non ferrous metal companies, 5 real estate, 1 other financial service company, 8 railway companies, 16 machinery companies, 2 other land transport companies, 3 marine transport companies, 1 air transport company, 1 warehousing company, 28 electrical machinery companies, 6 communication companies, 3 electrical power companies, 2 gas companies, 9 services companies and 2 shipbuilding companies.2

Due to the large number of components, the Nikkei Index can be used as a reliable indicator of the state of the Japanese economy and as a measure of investor sentiment.

Nikkei 225 Selection Criteria

Components could be changed during an annual review called a Periodic Review, or upon delisting of a component company through an Extraordinary Replacement. The constituents of the Nikkei are reviewed on an annual basis every autumn and if a change is decided, it normally takes place in October.

The selection criteria is based on two main factors:

• Liquidity
• Sector Balance

Additionally, to be considered for selection, the constituent must be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section and must be an ordinary share.

*The top 5 performing stocks in the Nikkei Index:

1. T&D with a price of 1924, an increase of 5.02%

2. Alps Electric with a price of 3490, an increase of 3.87%

3. Sony with a price of 3661, an increase of 3.65%

4. Nomura with a price of 767, an increase 3.58%

5. All Nippon Airways with a price of 348.90, an increase of 3.56% 5

*as at time of writing: April 2017

How Is The Nikkei 225 Calculated

The Nikkei Index is price weighted, which means that each stock proportionately affects the value of the index according to its price.

The index value is calculated by adding up the prices of the components and dividing them by the total number of components, in this case, 225.

How To Trade The Nikkei 225

While it is not possible to trade directly on the Nikkei Index, investors can make use of either Futures, Options, Contract for Difference (CFDs) or by charting the market.

Trading Nikkei 225 With A CFD Broker

CFDs are tradable instruments that represent the difference between when a contract is entered and when it is exited, this allows for gains or losses when the underlying index (in this case, the Nikkei Index) moves.

The advantages of trading the Nikkei Index as a CFD include, a higher leverage as CFDs traditionally have lower margin requirements than other methods of trade, access to a variety of markets on the same platform, a variety of trading options and little or no brokerage fees.

For example, Plus500 currently offer the Nikkei 225 CFD (Japan 225 (NIY)) for a 19,686 Buy price and a 19,668 short price and up to 1:300 leverage.

This means that a trader would only require an account size 65.62 to purchase one contract of the Nikkei 225 Index. (19,686/300=65.62)

It is important to note however that leverage can go both ways and amplify both losses and profits.

In summary, trading the Nikkei 225 as a CFD has one the lowest capital requirements for a trader.