How to Spread Bet European Stocks as Greece Gears up for Re-Election

LONDON, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Financial spread betting is an alternative to traditional trading whereby investors can take a position on falling European stocks following negative economic news with the potential to profit.

As the markets opened this morning, Monday 14 May 2012, European stocks fell as Greece edged closer to a re-election following a failed attempt at a coalition government.

Tsipras Rejects Coalition

Last ditch efforts by President Kerolos Papoulias to form a coalition government between party leaders came to an end last night (Sunday 13 May) following critical talks, which ended with no deal in sight; a  week after national elections produced a deadlock between the two parties.

Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's radical left party Syriza, rejected calls to join a coalition saying he would not support New Democracy or Pasok in a pro-austerity government.

The same defiance was met from the Greek moderate left, saying he would not take part in a coalition with Syriza.

How this affects the market

European stocks opened lower this morning as investors sold banks and resource stocks as the Greece political crisis showed no signs of abating over the weekend.

The FTSE 100 index fell by around 1.7% and the German DAX index by over 2% by 10am at the start of the trading week on Monday, May 14.

Why Spread Bet on Falling Markets?

Investors can use a spread bet to speculate on the future price movement of over 12,000 financial markets with City Index, including indices, shares, currencies, commodities and more.

How to Spread Bet on European Stocks

As an example, let's look at how to spread bet the FTSE 100.

With a City Index spread betting account, you can take a position on the UK 100 Daily Funded Trade  or DFT (based on the underlying FTSE 100 index) - with the added potential to net a tax-free* profit.

If you believe the UK 100 will rise - you go long and buy.

Alternatively, using the negative economic news out of Greece, you may predict it will fall - therefore, you go short and sell.

For every point that the market moves in your favour, you will net a potential profit. However, for every point that it moves against your position - you will net a potential loss.

See how you can learn to spread bet with City Index.

*Spread betting is exempt from UK stamp duty and Capital Gains Tax. However, tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Please seek independent advice if necessary.

Why Spread Bet with City Index

Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month in over 50 countries. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, CFDs and, in the UK, financial spread betting with City Index.

We constantly look to improve the performance of our platforms and expand our range of services. The result is our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer support. Visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/ for details.