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Best Brokers for Trading the Hang Seng Index of 2024

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Written by BrokerNotes.co

March 14, 2024

Hang Seng (HSI) Index

The Hang Seng Index (HSI or HK50), follows the movements of largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Market (HKEx). The 50 companies included represent approximately 60% of the entire Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HSI is the main indicator for determining the overall performance of the Hong Kong stock market. The index was launched on the 24th November 1969 and was backdated to 31st July 1964.

The HSI represents companies from Hong Kong and Mainland China from 11 different industries. These industries include energy, materials, industrials, consumer goods, consumer services, telecommunications, utilities, financials, properties & construction, information technology and conglomerates. The largest industry representation within the index is financials. This industry comprised 48.2% of the HSI as at June 2017.

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Which companies are listed on the HSI?

The HSI is reviewed on a quarterly basis in order to determine if the index needs to be changed or adjusted.

Companies are added or removed from the index according to their free float market capitalisation. The formula for market capitalisation involves multiplying the stock price by the number of shares outstanding. In determining market capitalisation, all shares are included. The index is comprised of A shares, B shares, H shares, Red Chip and P Chip (see notes).

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Best Forex Brokers for Trading the HSI

Here are the best forex brokers for trading the HSI.

  • IG - 9.9/10 Overall
  • Interactive Brokers - 9.9/10 Overall
  • Saxo - 9.7/10 Overall
  • CMC Markets - 9.6/10 Overall
  • FOREX.com - 9.4/10 Overall
  • TD Ameritrade - 9.3/10 Overall
  • City Index - 9.3/10 Overall
  • XTB - 9.1/10 Overall
  • eToro - 8.8/10 Overall
IG
9.9/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit£250.00
Tier-1 Licenses8
Tradeable Symbols (Total)19537

Year after year, IG has shown itself to be the best broker in the forex industry and a fantastic choice for forex traders. Highly trusted and regulated across the globe, IG delivers a wide variety of rich features, market research, and powerful trading tools. Fans of copy trading will appreciate IG’s seamless integration of trading signals into its web platform. Read full review

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Interactive Brokers
9.9/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses9
Tradeable Symbols (Total)8500

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted broker regulated across the globe that delivers access to over 100 markets, including forex and CFDs. Its Trader Workstation (TWS) platform offers a variety of advanced trading tools for experienced traders, and IBKR's web-based platform is great for beginner forex traders.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
Saxo
9.7/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)70000

Saxo is a highly trusted broker that operates multiple banks and is regulated across the globe. Saxo delivers an incredible cross-platform experience alongside powerful research and a vast selection of more than 60,000 symbols across multiple asset classes. It’s worth noting that minimum deposits at Saxo are steep.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
CMC Markets
9.6/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses5
Tradeable Symbols (Total)12074

CMC Markets is a highly trusted multi-asset broker regulated in multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions. CMC's powerful Next Generation trading platform for web and mobile delivers a huge selection of markets and a fantastic user experience. CMC Markets also ranks highly for its high-quality research and educational content.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
FOREX.com
9.4/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$100
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)5500

FOREX.com is a highly trusted brand with a long history of offering forex in the U.S. and across the globe. FOREX.com offers its own flagship trading platforms for web and desktop, as well as the full MetaTrader suite. Though its pricing is higher than average, FOREX.com is a balanced choice for traders of all experience levels.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)Yes
TD Ameritrade
9.3/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses5
Tradeable Symbols (Total)0

TD Ameritrade, part of financial conglomerate Charles Schwab, is a leader in platform technology and trusted by millions of investors globally with trillions in assets under its brands. Available exclusively to U.S. residents, TD Ameritrade's forex offering consists of just over 70 currency pairs, along with powerful research and trading tools.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
City Index
9.3/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit£100.00
Tier-1 Licenses7
Tradeable Symbols (Total)13500

City Index, part of StoneX Group, is an award-winning, highly trusted broker with a long history of offering forex and CFDs across its global offices. City Index delivers a well-designed mobile trading app and a powerful web platform, as well as a large range of tradeable markets (though pricing is just average).

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
XTB
9.1/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$0
Tier-1 Licenses2
Tradeable Symbols (Total)6010

XTB is a highly trusted brand with a proprietary platform (xStation 5) that delivers a rich selection of trading tools. XTB also offers CFDs for a wide range of asset classes, including multiple cryptocurrencies. Beginners will appreciate XTB's excellent educational content and the hundreds of lessons that are available via its Trading Academy.

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)Yes
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No
eToro
8.8/10 Overall
Minimum Deposit$10-$10,000
Tier-1 Licenses3
Tradeable Symbols (Total)3479

Best known for its copy trading platform suite, eToro is a highly trusted broker offering a large selection of cryptocurrency products, CFDs, shares, forex pairs, and a wide range of powerful trading tools. It’s worth noting that eToro is not a discount broker (though it offers zero-dollar commissions for U.S. stocks).

Apple iOS AppYes
Android AppNo
Proprietary PlatformYes
Desktop Platform (Windows)No
Web PlatformYes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)No

How is the value of the HSI derived?

The Hang Seng Index is a capitalisation weighted index. Each company within the index is weighted according to the total market value of the company’s outstanding shares. No single company can represent more than 10% of the HSI. This is done in order to avoid single stock domination.

On a daily basis, the performance of the HSI is determined by calculating the percentage difference between the market capitalisation at the close of the day and the market capitalisation at the start of the day.

How to trade the HSI

The HSI is traded on various futures exchanges around the world. The majority of the daily volume from the HSI occurs on the Japan Exchange Group (JPX). The Japan Exchange Group was formed by the merger of the Osaka Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2013.

Another way to trade the HSI is through CFDs (contracts for difference). CFDs are fairly similar to a futures contract. The major similarity between the two instruments is the amount of leverage involved. Both types of contracts offer a great degree of leverage, but generally CFDs tend to be slightly more leveraged than futures contracts. The actual amount of leverage offered will depend on the broker and the regulatory requirements.

Advantages of trading the HSI as a CFD

CFDs are convenient as they give traders the chance to speculate on a market without having to actually own the individual stocks that the product tracks. They also allow traders to go “short” on an instrument, which means that the trader can take advantage of an index when it is going down, and not just when it is going up. Another advantage is that there is usually no commission charged on a CFD transaction. The broker will normally collect their fee from the spread price, the difference between the sell and the buy price for the instrument.

London Capital Group are authorised and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to provide CFDs. They offer a Hong Kong Index CFD. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lot with the value of 1 lot or pip being HKD 50. A margin requirement of 1% is required. The minimum requirements for a buy trade on the Hong Kong Index CFD would, therefore, be HKD 13.53 (27054*0.1*50*0.01% = HKD 13.53). *All information collected from LCG as at 30 July 2017. Please refer to the LCG website for full terms and conditions.

When choosing to trade with a regulated broker, such as IG or Plus500, traders can also benefit from access to a wide range of additional underlying markets through a single platform.

Additional Information

A Hong Kong 50 Index is also calculated by two other data providers, STOXX Limited and FTSE International Limited. These data services use a market capitalisation weighted formula for calculating the value of the index on a daily basis. However, STOXX and FTSE use different components in their index. The prices, therefore, vary between the three indices.

Notes

A shares are securities of Chinese incorporated companies quoted in Chinese Yuan that trade on either the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchanges.

B shares are securities of Chinese incorporated companies that trade on either the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchanges. They are quoted in US Dollars.

H shares are securities of People’s Republic of China incorporated companies. The shares include a nomination process by the Central Government for listing and trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. They are quoted in Hong Kong dollars.

Red Chip is a company incorporated outside the People’s Republic of China, trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It represents a company that is substantially owned by Mainland China state entities. Most of their revenue is from mainland China.

P Chip is a company that is controlled by mainland individuals, The company must originate in mainland China. It must be incorporated outside of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a majority of its revenue derived from mainland China.

BrokerNotes.co 2023 Overall Rankings

To recap, here are our top forex brokers for 2023, sorted by Overall ranking.

Company Overall Rating Minimum Deposit Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard Trust Score Tradeable Symbols (Total) Read Review Visit Site
IG logoIG 9.9 £250.00 0.98 info 99 19537 IG Review Read Review
Saxo logoSaxo 9.7 $0 1.1 info 99 70000 Saxo Review
Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers 9.9 $0 0.63 info 99 8500 Interactive Brokers Review
CMC Markets logoCMC Markets 9.6 $0 0.61 info 99 12074 CMC Markets Review
TD Ameritrade logoTD Ameritrade 9.3 $0 1.25 info 99 0 TD Ameritrade Review
FOREX.com logoFOREX.com 9.4 $100 1.4 info 99 5500 FOREX.com Review
City Index logoCity Index 9.3 £100.00 1.4 info 99 13500 City Index Review
XTB logoXTB 9.1 $0 1.00 info 96 6010 XTB Group Review
eToro logoeToro 8.8 $10-$10,000 1 info 90 3479 eToro Review
Swissquote logoSwissquote 8.8 $1000 N/A info 99 472 Swissquote Review
AvaTrade logoAvaTrade 8.7 $100 0.92 info 94 1260 AvaTrade Review
FXCM logoFXCM 8.5 Starts from $50 0.74 info 95 440 FXCM Review
Plus500 logoPlus500 8.6 €100 0.8 (August 2021) info 99 5500 info Plus500 Review
Capital.com logoCapital.com 8.7 $20 info 0.67 info 87 3007 Capital.com Review
XM Group logoXM Group 8.4 $5 1.6 info 88 1429 XM Group Review
Pepperstone logoPepperstone 8.4 $200 0.77 info 95 2342 Pepperstone Review
OANDA logoOANDA 8.5 $0 1.57 info 93 1744 info OANDA Review
Admirals logoAdmirals 8.5 $100 0.8 info 93 8702 Admiral Markets Review
FP Markets logoFP Markets 8.3 $100 AUD 1.1 info 87 10000 FP Markets Review
IC Markets logoIC Markets 8.1 $200 0.62 info 84 3583 IC Markets Review
Markets.com logoMarkets.com 8.1 $100 1.9 info 96 2179 Markets.com Review
FxPro logoFxPro 8.1 $100 1.51 info 90 2249 FxPro Review
Tickmill logoTickmill 8.1 $100 0.51 info 83 725 Tickmill Review
Fineco Bank logoFineco Bank 8.0 $0 N/A info 94 9770 Fineco Bank Review
BlackBull Markets logoBlackBull Markets 8.0 $0 0.827 info 77 26000 BlackBull Markets Review
DooPrime logoDooPrime 7.8 $100 N/A info 83 10000 DooPrime Review
Vantage logoVantage 8.0 $50 1.30 info 90 1000 Vantage Review
BDSwiss logoBDSwiss 7.7 $10-$5000 info 1.6 info 76 1081 BDSwiss Review
HFM logoHFM 7.9 $0 1.2 info 86 3500 HFM Review
FlowBank logoFlowBank 7.7 $0 N/A info 80 408600 FlowBank Review
HYCM (Henyep Capital Markets) logoHYCM (Henyep Capital Markets) 7.9 $20 0.6 info 88 1199 HYCM Review
Trading 212 logoTrading 212 7.7 €10 1.9 info 79 8025 Trading 212 Review
ThinkMarkets logoThinkMarkets 7.8 $0 info 1.1 info 92 4000 ThinkMarkets Review
Eightcap logoEightcap 7.5 $100 1.0 info 85 736 Eightcap Review
Trade Nation logoTrade Nation 7.6 $0 0.6 85 601 Trade Nation Review
Moneta Markets logoMoneta Markets 7.5 $50 1.27 info 72 1016 Moneta Markets Review
VT Markets logoVT Markets 7.3 $100 1.2 info 70 1000 VT Markets Review
TMGM logoTMGM 7.6 $100 N/A info 83 12000 TMGM Review
ACY Securities logoACY Securities 7.4 $50 1.2 info 75 2200 ACY Securities Review
easyMarkets logoeasyMarkets 7.3 $50 0.9 info 80 199 easyMarkets Review
RoboForex (RoboMarkets) logoRoboForex (RoboMarkets) 7.3 $100 1.4 info 71 12000 Roboforex (RoboMarkets) Review
IronFX logoIronFX 7.2 $50 1.2 83 340 IronFX Review
Exness logoExness 7.0 $1 0.9 info 71 112 Exness Review
Spreadex logoSpreadex 7.2 $0 0.81 info 71 10000 Spreadex Review
IFC Markets logoIFC Markets 7.2 $1 1.44 info 67 630 ATFX Review
Trade360 logoTrade360 7.2 $250 N/A info 76 1062 Trade360 Review
Axi logoAxi 7.1 $0 N/A info 81 175 Axitrader Review
GKFX logoGKFX 7.0 $0 N/A info 65 354 GKFX Review
Vestle logoVestle 7.0 -1 N/A 78 750 Vestle Review
Octa logoOcta 7.2 $25 0.9 info 70 230 OctaFX Review
FXOpen logoFXOpen 7 $100 N/A info 80 87 FXOpen Review
TeleTrade logoTeleTrade 7.1 $100 N/A 71 500 Teletrade Review
FXPrimus logoFXPrimus 7.0 $100 N/A info 71 140 FXPrimus Review
Forex4you logoForex4you 6.9 $0 N/A info 61 150 Forex4you Review
GBE brokers logoGBE brokers 6.8 $500 N/A info 71 500 GBE Brokers Review
Alpari logoAlpari 6.8 $20 N/A info 68 105 Alpari Review
TopFX logoTopFX 6.7 Depends on payment method N/A info 67 655 TopFX Review
Libertex (Forex Club) logoLibertex (Forex Club) 6.7 $10 N/A info 73 300 Libertex Review
LegacyFX logoLegacyFX 6.7 $500 N/A 67 425 LegacyFX Review
FXGT.com logoFXGT.com 6.6 $5 N/A 69 117 FXGT Review
ATFX logoATFX 6.5 $500 N/A info 73 150 ATFX Review
Xtrade logoXtrade 6.5 $250 N/A info 80 142 Xtrade Review
MultiBank logoMultiBank 7.5 $50 N/A 84 1042

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