Irish Stock Market Spread Bets

Where Can I Spread Bet on Irish Shares?

Shares
FTSE 100 Shares
FTSE 250 Shares
Wall Street Shares
S&P 500 Shares
NASDAQ 100 Shares
DAX 30 Shares
CAC 40 Shares
Irish Shares
Other Shares

The above spread betting markets may also be available with other companies. Also see financial spread betting comparison notes.

Where Can I Get Live Spread Betting Prices and Charts for Irish Stock Market?

The chart above provides some valuable insight into the behaviour of market.

But, if you are financial spread betting on the Irish Stock Market, the providers mentioned above offer live prices and charts that have more sophisticated options.

Typical spread betting chart from FinancialSpreads.com

Spread Betting on Irish Shares

Financial spread betting allows investors to speculate on a wide range of markets, including Irish shares, tax free* and with no brokers’ fees, or commissions.

If you want to access Irish markets then sometimes you’ll need to ‘subscribe’ to see and/or trade the prices.

This is often free to account holders, it’s just a way for the spreads companies to keep the cost of their pricing feeds down.

Irish Stock Market Spread Betting Example

Should you want to spread bet on a stock market index such as the Irish Stock Market then, looking at a website like IG.com, at the time of writing you would see a price of 4748 – 4760.

This means you can bet on the Irish Stock Market to move above 4760 or move below 4748.

With spread betting, you speculate on every unit the market increases or decreases. For the Irish Stock Market market a unit is 1 point of the index’s price movement.

Let’s say, for this example, you want to bet £3 for every point the Irish Stock Market moves up or down.

Buying – Spread Betting on the Market to Rise

If you were to buy the Irish Stock Market at 4760 and the index rose then the quote might be re-priced at 4803 – 4815. If that were to happen, you could close your position for a profit by selling at 4803.

P&L = (settlement price of the market – initial price of the market) x stake per point
P&L = (4803 – 4760) x £3 per point stake
P&L = 43 points x £3 per point
P&L = £129 profit

Markets do of course fall, if the index had decreased to 4722 – 4734, you might want to close your bet to prevent further losses. Assuming this was the case, you would make a sell trade at 4722.

With the same £3 per point stake:

P&L = (settlement price of the market – initial price of the market) x stake per point
P&L = (4722 – 4760) x £3 per point stake
P&L = -38 points x £3 per point
P&L = -£114 loss

Selling – Spread Betting on the Market to Fall

An advantage of placing a spread bet is that investors can sell the markets.

Initially, the market was priced at 4748 – 4760.

If you went short of the Irish Stock Market at 4748 and the index fell then you might see the quote drop to 4690 – 4702. In that case, you might choose to close your position for a profit by buying at 4702.

P&L = (initial price of the market – settlement price of the market) x stake per point
P&L = (4748 – 4702) x £3 per point stake
P&L = 46 points x £3 per point
P&L = £138 profit

Of course, if the index were to rise up to 4776 – 4788, you could choose to close your trade to restrict your losses. If so, you would buy at 4788.

So, with the same £3 per point stake:

P&L = (initial price of the market – settlement price of the market) x stake per point
P&L = (4748 – 4788) x £3 per point stake
P&L = -40 points x £3 per point
P&L = -£120 loss


Irish Stock Market Rolling Daily market quoted as of 25-Jul-14.

This is a rolling daily trade. This style of trade doesn’t have a fixed expiry date and will just rollover to the next trading day. When a market rolls over you might be charged a small overnight financing fee or receive a small credit. For more details, please see rolling daily spread bets.

How to Spread Bet on Irish Shares

Ryanair Worked Spread Betting Example

If you decide to spread bet on stocks such as Ryanair then, on visiting a site like FinancialSpreads.com, you might see a quote of €7.1382 – €7.1584.

As a result, you could bet on Ryanair to move higher than €7.1584 or to move lower than €7.1382.

When spread betting, investors trade on every unit the market increases or decreases. For the Ryanair market a unit is €0.01 of the Irish share’s price movement.

Let’s say, for instance, that you choose to bet £10 for every cent Ryanair moves up or down.

Speculating on the Market to Rise

If you went long of Ryanair at €7.1584 and the Irish shares rose then the quote could change to €7.2873 – €7.3075. In that case, you might decide to close your trade for a profit at €7.2873.

P&L = (final level of the market – opening level of the market) x stake per cent
P&L = (€7.2873 – €7.1584) x £10 per cent stake
P&L = €0.1289 x £10 per cent
P&L = £128.90 profit

Nevertheless, if the Irish shares were to fall to, as an example, €7.0439 – €7.0641, you may decide to close your trade to prevent further losses. Assuming this was the case, you would sell back at €7.0439.

You would close your bet with the same £10 per cent stake:

P&L = (final level of the market – opening level of the market) x stake per cent
P&L = (€7.0439 – €7.1584) x £10 per cent stake
P&L = -€0.1145 x £10 per cent
P&L = -£114.50 loss

Speculating on the Market to Fall

A major benefit of spread betting is that you can short sell the markets, i.e. speculate on the markets to fall.

If you recall, initially the market was priced at €7.1382 – €7.1584.

If you were to sell Ryanair at €7.1382 and the Irish shares decreased then the quote might change to €7.0088 – €7.0290. If this were the case, you might want to close your bet for a profit at €7.0290.

P&L = (opening level of the market – final level of the market) x stake per cent
P&L = (€7.1382 – €7.0290) x £10 per cent stake
P&L = €0.1092 x £10 per cent
P&L = £109.20 profit

However, if the Irish shares had increased to, as an example, €7.2151 – €7.2353, you could close your bet to limit your losses. If that were to happen, you’d buy at €7.2353.

You would do this with the same £10 per cent stake:

P&L = (opening level of the market – final level of the market) x stake per cent
P&L = (€7.1382 – €7.2353) x £10 per cent stake
P&L = -€0.0971 x £10 per cent
P&L = -£97.10 loss


Ryanair Rolling Daily spread betting prices quoted as of 28-Aug-14.

This is a ‘Rolling Daily’ spread bet. This style of market doesn’t have a preset settlement date and instead rolls over to the next trading day automatically. When a market rolls over you might incur a small cost or receive a small credit. Also see guide to rolling spread betting markets.

Irish Stock Market Test Accounts

So what if you just want to practice? The firms detailed below provide test accounts, i.e. accounts you can use to have a go at spread betting on the Irish Stock Market without putting your capital at risk.

• Financial Spreads
• InterTrader

User Questions and Answers on the Irish Stock Market