How does Commodities trading work?

Commodities cover energy, agriculture and metals products. These products are traded in futures markets and derive their value from demand and supply characteristics. Supply characteristics include the weather in the case of agriculture and costs of extraction in the case of mining and energies. Demand for commodities tends to be characterised by broader conditions such as economic cycles and population growth. Commodities can be traded as stand alone products or in pairs. Metals and energies are traded against major currencies whereas agriculture futures contracts are traded as stand-alone contracts.

How does Stock CFD Trading work?

Stock trading involves buying or selling a share of ownership in an individual company listed on an exchange such as the ASX or NASDAQ. Stocks are typically traded without leverage and through a stock exchange. Stock CFDs however can be traded using leverage and are done so over-the-counter (OTC). Participants are able to access stocks of individual companies, building positions in an individual company or in a specified sector of the economy.

Participants often build strategies with diversification in mind to diversify away unsystematic risk across a number of companies or a range of sectors. Investors may choose to build positions in defensives if they are predicting volatility. Similarly, investors may decide to build a portfolio around a growth strategy consisting of small to mid-cap technology stocks.