LONDON, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

As BSkyB shares tumble, how are you planning to potentially profit from the fall? Here we show you how to spread bet on a falling market.

Financial spread betting allows you to go both long and short on a market, opening up opportunities to profits regardless of the market's direction.

BSkyB Shares Fall

BSkyB shares suffered heavy falls on Thursday, June 14 2012, losing over 8% at one point before recovering slightly to close down on the day by 3% after announcing that the company, along with British Telecom, will be shelling out a combined fee of £3 billion to secure live broadcasting rights for the Premier League matches over the next four years.

The announcement has caused a knee-jerk reaction among investors, jostling BSkyB shares down by 8% at one point on Thursday on fears that the company may have paid too much for the broadcasting rights for the highly publicised series.

Shares in BT also racked up losses, closing down by 3.5% in Thursday's trading session. The £3 billion price tag marks a £1.25 billion or 70% increase on the current Premier League rights package shared by BSkyB and ESPN.

An Opportunity to Net a Bargain?

Thursday's fall brings BSkyB's share price down to its lowest level since April, presenting spread bettors a potential opportunity to pick up what they may see as a bargain in the short term if they feel BSkyB's shares price could recover.

Spread betting is an alternative to conventional shares trading, offering investors the opportunity to net a profit irrespective of whether a company's share price is rising or falling.

With the added advantage of leverage and tax-free profits*, spread betting can be a great trading tool during volatile trading conditions. However, leveraged trading can also be a double edged sword as if you can lose more than your initial deposit if you do not employ prudent risk management.

Spread betting, unlike more conventional trading, enables you to profit irrespective of whether a instrument's price is moving up or down. This means that as a spread bettor, you can profit even if a company's share price is on the decline, as with BSkyB showed on Thursday 14 June 2012. All you need to do is determine whether you believe that prices will rise or fall in the coming days.

In the case of BSkyB shares, let's say you believe that the current fall in share prices is only a knee-jerk reaction and that prices will stabilise in the coming days. Keeping this in mind, you take a long (or buy) position on BSkyB shares with an online spread betting provider such as Finspreads.

If you were right and BSkyB shares rise above your buy price in the coming days, you would net a profit. If you were wrong, however, you would net a loss.

Similarly, if you believe that the £3 billion Premier League deal will impact BSkyB's profit potential over the next couple of years, forcing its price even lower in the long run, you would take a 'sell' spread betting position, also known as going short on BSkyB shares. If you were right and BSkyB shares continue to lose value below your sell price, you would net a profit. Had prices risen, you would make a loss.

Summary

Find out more about how you can take a spread betting over 12,000 markets with Finspreads.

Spread betting is a leveraged product which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks.

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

About Finspreads:

Finspreads is a leading online financial spread betting  firm, offering access to thousands of instruments on the world's financial markets.

The company pioneered fully interactive online spread betting in 1999 and continues to invest in technology to ensure that its service remains amongst the market leaders.

SOURCE Finspreads