CMC Markets Australia has launched weekend gold CFD trading.

CMC Markets Australia has launched weekend gold CFD trading, giving clients the ability to trade one of the world’s most closely watched assets around the clock as demand for always-on market access continues to rise.

This has followed a broader expansion enabling clients extended trading including 24/7 crypto CFD trading, 24/5 trading on major US share CFDs, and now weekend access to gold CFDs.

The move to weekend gold trading enables traders to respond in real-time to market-moving events, including on weekends, when access to gold markets has historically been limited.

Jimmy Pan, Head of Retail Trading for CMC Markets said the launch reflects the changing expectations of modern traders.

“Trading behaviour has evolved significantly in recent years. Today’s traders are increasingly monitoring markets across time zones, asset classes and devices, and they expect the flexibility to respond when opportunities arise – not just during traditional market hours,” Mr Pan said.

“The growth of crypto trading has helped accelerate this shift toward an always-on trading mindset, particularly among younger and digitally native traders. We’re seeing growing demand from clients for greater flexibility and more access outside conventional trading windows.

“The move to around the clock gold trading is a direct response to that demand. Gold remains one of the most actively followed global assets, particularly during periods of geopolitical uncertainty and macro-economic volatility. Giving clients the ability to access the market at any time provides greater control over how and when they manage risk and react to market movements.”

The launch comes amid broader industry momentum toward extended-hours trading globally, as retail traders increasingly seek real-time access and faster execution across markets.

“This trend reflects a broader transformation in retail trading habits, driven by technology, changing consumer expectations and the emergence of the “always-on trader” – traders who increasingly expect financial markets to operate with the same accessibility and immediacy as other digital services,” Mr Pan said.

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Fraser Allan

CMC Invest, Australia’s largest non-bank share trading platform, has unveiled the investment behaviours of Australian retail investors in its inaugural Inside Invest Report.

The report reveals Australian investors remained resilient in the face of uncertainty in 2025, balancing diversification with selective conviction, and using volatility as a point of action, rather than an excuse for delay.

In a year dominated by global geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions and interest rates that remained higher for longer rather than retreating to the sidelines, clients continued to invest through volatility. Across 2025, around 75% of all trades were ‘buy’ orders.

A clear trend emerged of investors looking to get broad local and international exposure through ETFs, with a clear ‘Big Four’ ETFs emerging – IVV, VGS, VAS and NDQ, ranking as the four most traded instruments overall.

“On the surface, 2025 appeared positive looking at the returns of major indices, both here and abroad. However, in practice, it was a difficult year to navigate,” said Director of Premium Client Trading ANZ at CMC Invest, Fraser Allan. “Rates remained higher for longer, trade tensions resurfaced, AI-driven enthusiasm intensified, and geopolitical pressures persisted. Euphoric rallies in gold and silver added to the sense of unease, pointing to growing uncertainty in global markets.

“Despite that backdrop, CMC Invest client behaviour in 2025 tells a story of resilience and discipline. When uncertainty rose, clients chose patience over panic. When opportunities emerged, they stepped forward with conviction.”

Home bias holds firm

Total orders executed on ASX-listed stocks were almost six times higher than those on US stocks in 2025, demonstrating a strong home bias when investing in individual companies.

Investment activity was concentrated in familiar blue-chip companies across financials, materials, and consumer stocks, broadly reflecting the structure of the Australian share market, as well as the appeal of long-term track records, brand familiarity, and dividend income.

Two blue-chip ASX companies illustrated how investors responded differently to volatility and changes in share prices during the year:

• CBA: investor activity was more evenly split, with 56% of orders on the buy side, potentially reflecting greater sensitivity to company-specific factors such as valuation.

• CSL: behaviour showed a clearer buy-the-dip pattern, with 84% of orders on the buy side as clients added exposure following a significant share price decline over the year.

Two names dominate US markets

Unlike the more even participation seen across ASX stocks, US investing concentrated in two retail favourites, NVIDIA and Tesla, that accounted for around half of all trades among the top 10 US stocks.

• NVIDIA: was the most traded stock on the entire platform in 2025, ahead of BHP and CSL, and the fifth most traded instrument overall, reflecting how strongly the AI narrative captured investor attention throughout 2025.

• TSLA: Similar to CSL on the ASX, clients showed a tendency to “buy the dip”. April was the second-strongest buying month (behind July), with 77% of orders on the buy side.

Crypto goes mainstream

Bitcoin trading activity further highlighted how portfolios are evolving. By total orders executed, Bitcoin ranked ninth overall traded instrument, and fourth when ETFs are excluded, placing it alongside the platform’s most actively traded assets.

Around 82% of Bitcoin orders were placed on the buy side, a much stronger skew than seen in most top ASX and US stocks. This level of buy-side activity is notable given Bitcoin’s elevated volatility during 2025, including two drawdowns of roughly 30%.

Despite this, client behaviour remained strongly skewed towards accumulation.

Strong buying conviction in offshore markets

Outside the ASX and US, trading activity in 2025 showed a more adventurous streak, as clients explored a broader mix of global opportunities across the additional 14 international markets available on the CMC Invest platform.

Metaplanet emerged as CMC Invest’s most traded stock outside the ASX and US markets in 2025, reflecting elevated retail interest in Bitcoin treasury companies.

China, via Hong Kong, dominated offshore trading with EV heavyweight BYD, and HK tech leaders Alibaba, Xiaomi and Tencent all featuring in the top 10 traded stocks outside Australia and US.

“Overall, 2025 reinforced some familiar lessons. Markets rarely move in straight lines, and progress often comes from staying disciplined through uncertainty,” Mr Allan said. “Local investors remained engaged, navigating a challenging year with a clear focus on long-term outcomes rather than short-term noise.”

“Looking ahead to 2026, uncertainty and market volatility are likely to persist. Against this backdrop, we expect investors to remain active in identifying opportunities, both domestically and offshore, using diversification and exposure to high-quality blue-chip companies to support long-term investment goals.”

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CMC Markets Stockbroking joins forces with theScreener

CMC Markets Stockbroking has signed a partnership agreement with theScreener, to become Australia’s first stockbroker to provide frequent traders with more detailed research, analyst reports and stock picking recommendations through a unique star-rated reports system.

theScreener is a leader in independent equity analysis. Created in Switzerland, theScreener’s powerful software computes complex calculations on over 5,000 companies and securities from both the local and international equity markets. It extracts the most critical technical and fundamental elements, to create star-rated reports, inclusive of risk profiles, for each stock.

Andy Rogers, Head of CMC Markets Stockbroking said, “As part of the investment program in our platform, we scoured the globe for a partner that could provide genuine stock-level investment insights that could be integrated with our online broking platform”.

“We chose to partner with theScreener because its software can recreate the sophisticated techniques traditionally used by professional investors. In the coming months we will provide this innovation to our self-directed retail customers, which is another compelling reason to switch provider to CMC Markets Stockbroking,” adds Rogers.

theScreener’s depth of analysis gives Australian traders visibility on the performance of all ASX-based stocks by providing fundamental, technical and projecting criteria. It also creates a star rating based on earnings revenue trend, price potential, medium term technical trend and relative performance. Complementing the upside star ranking is the risk evaluation, which takes into account both the historical bear market and bad news behaviour indicators.

Ernst Roth, Managing Director of theScreener Asia Pacific said, “We are excited to extend our services to Australian investors and expect them to benefit greatly from our clear objective analysis”.

“For over a decade theScreener has clearly shown that purchasing stocks when the star rating of the stocks move from two to three stars, and three to four stars, have provided the most favourable performance, both on an absolute and relative to the benchmark basis,” adds Roth.

“All traders with CMC Markets can now make better informed investment decisions by generating compact, detailed stock reports with the click of a mouse,” says Rogers.

Rogers adds that professional buy-side investors, those from private banking to asset and portfolio managers, use this software to sanity check investment decisions.

“Most platforms today offer standard fundamental research within aesthetically pleasing browsers but we aim to offer traders more. CMC Markets Stockbroking’s hallmark is delivering powerful tools and market leading innovations within our trading platform and theScreener is the latest example of this strategy coming to fruition,” says Rogers.

theScreener reports are re-evaluated each week and also include newly launched funds.

Rogers adds that whilst the software is very simple to use, CMC Markets award-winning Education Team will produce a series of webinars and blog posts to illustrate the software’s full range of capability and the results it can deliver.

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The SMSF sector is the fastest growing in the superannuation industry, growing by more than 33 per cent¹ over the past five years to 500,000 funds, with an estimated $162 billion in listed shares – which means shares have now outstripped cash (at close to $138 billion) as the asset of choice for SMSF trustees.²

“With interest rates at historic lows, it’s no surprise the largest proportion of asset allocation for Australia’s SMSF sector is now listed shares,” said Andrew Rogers, Head of CMC Markets Stockbroking. “We expect to see an even greater shift from cash and term deposits to listed shares if interest rates continue to remain at current levels as many are predicting.”

Mr Rogers went on to say that various features offered by equities – in particular direct equities – also offered appeal for SMSF investors, including tax effectiveness and the ability to offer both capital growth and an income stream via dividend payments.

“Direct shares allow the trustee complete control and transparency over the portfolio along with flexibility in terms of buying and selling at the time of the trustee’s choosing – not at the time it suits a super fund, for example. This gives trustees the ability to pursue ethical or other investing agendas and to adjust and rebalance the investment portfolio in line with their own bespoke model to achieve the outcomes they want,” said Mr Rogers.

According to Mr Rogers, the big question is, with the big banks, energy and materials stocks already priced high, will SMSF trustees venture into other sectors or seek to increase the number of companies represented in their portfolios?

“If this does occur, the potential volumes we’re talking about may have a material effect on pricing and the weightings of the ASX 200 benchmark. So it’s a space we’re watching with great interest.”

To help track and measure SMSF participation in the sharemarket, CMC Markets Stockbroking has developed an infographic that provides an at-a-glance breakdown of its key features, including the top shareholdings by state.

“Our analysis found that SMSFs on the eastern seaboard showed a particular preference for financial and bank stocks whilst SMSFs in WA were more likely to hold energy and material stocks. Queenslanders were heavier in stocks across Foods and Staples such as Woolworths (WOW) and Wesfarmers (WES),” said Mr Rogers.

“So while there are geographical variations, it seems that a penchant for the big name stocks is the constant. Over the next year or so we will be keeping a close eye on where the SMSF dollars are going, so we can anticipate trends and also look at adding more features to our trading platforms to add value to our SMSF clients,” he said.

CMC Markets has recently added new features to its platform specifically for SMSF clients, including a partnership with SMSF software developer Class Super. This partnership will streamline the process of transferring client data to accountants and advisers in real time, reducing the administrative burden on clients so they can spend more time focussed on their investments.

Key findings from CMC’s SMSF analysis

While the SMSF sector in Australia is rapidly growing, CMC Markets Stockbroking’s data indicates that the uptake has been greater in certain states. Almost half (46%) of CMC Markets Stockbroking’s SMSF clients are based in NSW, while 23% reside in Queensland, 17% are in Victoria, 5% can be found equally in WA ,South Australia and the Northern Territory, 3% in SA and just 1% in Tasmania. This dominance of NSW is reflective of the ATO data which also shows a strong presence of SMSFs in the eastern states of Australia.

To download the infographic please click here.

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¹ Australian Taxation Office Self-managed super funds: A statistical overview 2010-11

² Australian Taxation Office Self-managed super fund statistical report March 2013

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CMC Markets unveil its new stockbroking packages.

CMC Markets yesterday unveiled its new stockbroking packages, which the business says reaffirms its commitment to the Australian market and its serious intent to win substantial market share of the frequent trader segment.

The move by CMC Markets Stockbroking is the first in a number of initiatives that will see the business leverage its global expertise to become a dominant player in the Australian stockbroking market.

Andy Rogers, Head of CMC Markets Stockbroking, says rewarding frequent traders is at the heart of the new offer. “We are serious about delivering incredible value to frequent traders and believe our new brokerage packages and rates set us apart from the rest of the industry – particularly for the trader who executes larger trades.  There simply is no better offer on the market for frequent traders,” says Rogers.

The launch of the new packages reflects CMC Markets’ confidence in growing the stockbroking business with a particular focus on delivering cutting edge technology at a great price, with outstanding service that provides traders with immediate access to expert assistance.

From 2 October CMC Markets will offer packages for three types of stockbroking trader – ‘Classic’, ‘Active Investor’ and ‘Premium Trader’ tailoring the technical features and pricing for each group.  All categories will benefit from the best value pricing currently available.

 Table 1: CMC Markets Stockbroking new trading tiers

Frequent traders, a group encompassing Active Investors and Premium Traders, will pay from $9.90 or 0.08% for each trade and benefit from access to the most sophisticated technology available to traders in Australia.  For example, Premium Traders receive free access to dynamic data, technical analysis, research and trading ideas, and comprehensive tax and portfolio management tools.

“Our pricing is the best available on the market but what we are most proud of is the value we are able to offer traders, in particular frequent traders,” said Rogers.  “We’ve invested heavily in technology and as a result can provide even the most demanding traders with all the tools they need to trade successfully.  Add to this outstanding customer service whereby traders can get immediate assistance from our experienced and highly-skilled Sydney-based team and this is a package that really can’t be beaten by any other providers.”

Currently frequent traders account for around half of CMC Markets’ clients.  These frequent traders hold an average of 17 different securities at any one time and make around 25 trades every month.  Over the last 12 months the most popular securities traded were Linc Energy, Fortescue Metals Group, CBA, Telstra and Atlas Iron.

Mr Rogers added, “By understanding the needs of our frequent traders we are able to offer the best possible value, technology and service to this group.  We have forged strong, trusted relationships with our clients as a result of this understanding and our ability to deliver for them every time.”

As part of CMC Markets’ commitment to providing the best service for clients it recently moved its IT infrastructure within the ASX Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC).

“The purpose-built data centre is designed to meet the demands of the financial market community and provides CMC Markets Stockbroking with reliable access to trading data and venues. As we expand our online trading platform offering we are in the best position to take advantage of these state-of-the-art technologies and pass on the benefits to our clients,” concluded Rogers.

Table 2: Summary of new packages offered by CMC Markets Stockbroking

Table 3: Summary of technical features available to Premium Traders

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The new capability, exclusive to CMC Markets, is a purpose-built addition to its next generation CMC Tracker Platform that enables clients to see the percentage of CMC Markets’ clients from around the globe that are long or short on a particular product.

The new tool can sort sentiment of all CFD clients on a particular product, or just CMC Markets’ most profitable clients.
According to Chris Fulton, Head of CMC Markets Australia & New Zealand, the new sentiment tool provides its traders free of charge with the kind of market intelligence that is fundamental in supporting trading scenarios.

“The sentiment tool delivers information that gives our clients the advantage of having ‘eyes-and-ears’ into how other traders, both locally and globally, feel about the markets.

“Successful trading is all about superior information; this new capability is another way that we are delivering useful and timely data to our clients to help them make the best use of information in their trades.

“While some traders like to go with the market and others are contrarians, everyone likes to know how others are trading.  This new feature was custom-built for our traders after we received much client feedback about how we might improve our platform,” said Mr Fulton.

The new client sentiment tool is just one of several new tools CMC Markets has added to its CFD platform recently:
Pattern Recognition Scanner – this feature was built in response to the growing technical expertise of traders, who want access to extensive and detailed charting software. 100% integrated into the trading platform, the scanner gives investors more trading ideas by automatically scanning over 120 major instruments every five minutes, to find potential technical trade set-ups across all major asset types.

Trading Community – CMC Markets has successfully merged online social communities directly with trading the market through tools such as online Chart Message Boards and innovative use of social media via the CMC Markets Blog. The Message Boards allow traders to participate in online dialogue and discussions, post and exchange charts and interact with CMC’s Market analysts.

Mobile upgrades – CMC Markets continues to invest in mobile technology and many of the upgrades to the web-based platform are also reflected in CMC Markets’ purpose-built mobile platforms. More than 62% of CMC Markets’ clients have accessed CMC Tracker via a mobile app for iPhone, iPad or Android.

Mr Fulton concluded: “Our platform is constantly evolving to provide leading technology to our traders.  This is part of CMC Markets’ ongoing commitment to helping our clients’ trade with an edge.”

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After all, according to CMC Markets, Snake years have historically been the worst performing in investment market history.

So should investors really take fright and flee from the stock market?  “Not at all,” says Colin Cieszynski, Market Analyst CMC Markets Canada, “even if you really are making your investment decisions based on the Chinese lunar calendar, the reality is that Snake years have been mixed, with a pattern of positive followed by negative returns.  And if that pattern continues, we are set for a positive year in 2013.”

Mr Cieszynski said that the end of the Year of the Dragon has seen stock markets improve significantly. “Indices in the US and the UK are at their highest levels since 2007, and with improving economic data out of the US and China, investor appetite for riskier assets, like equities, is starting to come back,” he said.

But with the last Snake year, from February 2001 to March 2002, the worst Snake year ever for all markets, except Australia, can the curse of the Snake be avoided this year?

“We certainly think so,” says Mr Cieszynski.  “Part of the reason for the dire results in the last Snake year was the market sell-off post 9/11, so we shouldn’t read too much into it.”

“And the positive economic signs we are starting to see now have also produced a move by investors from defensive plays into equities, and this seems likely to continue.”

Mr Cieszynski explained that the biggest risk facing stock markets at the moment is also one of the reasons stock markets have been rallying. He said that QE3 in the US has been adding money at a rapid rate into the financial system in the US, and based on the experience of QE1 and QE2, it is likely that this hot fast money is artificially inflating stock and commodity prices.

“And we all know that what goes up must come down. Once QE1 and QE2 were completed, we saw a 10% correction in stock markets around the world.”

Mr Cieszynski concluded by saying that QE3 was a little bit different from QE1 and QE2 in that no end date has as yet been specified by the US Federal Reserve. “So depending on when the Fed decides to turn off the tap, investors may well find themselves well and truly bitten by the Snake this year, or even trampled by the Horse in 2014,” he said.

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Gold could lose its shine

Ric Spooner from CMC suggests that  platinum may  recover ground against gold in 2013.

2013 should see platinum recover ground after falling to a 16 year low against its golden counterpart according to CMC Markets’ Chief Market Analyst, Ric Spooner’s annual outlook on the commodities market.

According to Mr Spooner, the combined news of a reduction in annual production of platinum, and a forecast of the greater demand for platinum at this stage in the industrial cycle could see prices surge in 2013.

In mid-January Anglo American Platinum announced that it will cut annual production by 400,000 tonnes, an amount that equates to 7% of the world’s production, creating a substantial supply deficit. With an upturn expected in the industrial cycle, and therefore greater requirements for platinum, Mr Spooner believes that platinum will surge, particularly against its gold counterpart.

Mr Spooner also highlights the potential for industrial disputes such as that which occurred in South Africa as a potential threat for production which could also drive prices higher.  “Ageing mines in South Africa which are subject to considerable political risk are a major supply source for platinum. This came into play in recent months when strikes disrupted mine production,” said Mr Spooner.

Production levels
As a scarce metal, current mining production has a much greater impact on the demand supply balance for platinum than it does for gold according to Mr Spooner. Annual mine production is only a small proportion of total stocks in the gold market.

The industrial cycle
Demand for platinum centres much more on industrial uses and much less on investment than in the gold markets, with its main industrial uses being auto exhaust systems, electronic switching and glass manufacture. 

Figures from the World Gold Council and Johnson Matthey show that the proportion of platinum used for industrial purposes is six times greater than gold. This, according to Mr Spooner, means that platinum is more sensitive to the industrial cycle than gold, falling more heavily when industrial production declines as it did in 2008 and 2011 but rising more when the economy recovers.

Monetary policy
Financial commentary often assumes that the end of quantitative easing and higher interest rates will be bearish for commodities. 

Spooner expands, “While there is typically a short term negative reaction to the Fed withdrawing stimulus, the fact is that monetary tightening cycles are very often associated with bullish cycles in commodity markets.  This is because the Fed begins to tighten when economies start to improve. 

In the earlier stages of tightening cycles, improving industrial demand outweighs the negative impact of lower commodity investment demand and possible strengthening in the US Dollar. Indeed during the last two Fed tightening cycles in 1999/2000 and 2004/2006 we saw broad increases in the S&P GSCI Commodity Index.”

Trading prices
Today an ounce of platinum buys approximately an ounce of gold according to Mr Spooner, only slightly higher than the low of .86 in August.  The recent mine strikes and more optimistic economic outlook have seen the ratio climb off this low but not enough to break through lower resistance levels, according to Mr Spooner.  

He added “It may only take the markets to become a bit more optimistic about industrial production and motor vehicle sales for platinum to recover ground against the gold price.  I expect that confirmation of reduced mining production could fuel this recovery.”

Implications for traders
Mr Spooner suggests that it could be a long while before markets return to a situation where an ounce of platinum buys 2.36 ounces of gold as it did in May 2008, however it expects traders to increasingly look to a ‘buy platinum; sell gold’  trade, known as a pairs trade.   In such trades the trader does not have an exposure to the overall precious market but will profit if platinum outperforms either by rising more than gold in a bull market or by falling less in a bear market.

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Michael McCarthy, CMC Market’s Chief Market Strategist commented “At the end of 2011 it appeared that the end of the world was nigh.  Very few people predicted growth in the world’s major indices and even fewer would have suggested that it would be the German share market that outperformed its counterparts in the US and China.  Indeed the US and China also finished the year ahead of their starting position.”

The economic recovery and (partial) clearing of a political logjam in the US, the downgrading of European fears to negative growth from financial catastrophe, and the stabilisation of growth in China, point to a positive, modest growth scenario for the global economy over 2013 according to CMC Markets.

2013 will see investors remain cautious and focussed on investment basics.  McCarthy expands, “Dividend yields will be top of investors’ minds and with interest rates close to zero we expect to see a continued shift in investor thinking away from capital protection and safe havens towards real returns.  This is essentially a re-balancing of the risk to reward equation.”

McCarthy also notes that dividend yields on stocks are, in many cases, substantially above bond rates, a situation that often indicates share price increases. “While each market is different, this usually means utilities, telcos, infrastructure, property trusts and in some cases, financial stocks. Most importantly, investors need reasonable comfort that the revenue streams supporting dividend yields are sustainable.”

CMC Markets also notes that another important aspect of the brighter growth prospects for the world is that investors may move towards “growth” stocks over the next two quarters – primarily materials and industrial sectors.  McCarthy expands, “The implications for indices are clear – those offering superior dividend yields, compared to local interest rates, are likely to receive support over the first two quarters. As the global economy grows, the possible shift in investor focus could see outperformance by indices dominated by materials stocks – notably Canada and Australia.”

According to CMC Markets declining global risks could see significant Price to Earnings ratios (P/E) expansion.  McCarthy expects that canny traders looking to benefit from investor activity may examine markets with lower P/E’s as possible targets for global investors. “Hong Kong and Singapore both enjoy lower P/E’s and higher dividend yields, making them potentially more attractive to global investors. While Australia has a higher dividend yield, the higher P/E may deter. Importantly, indices such as the Germany 30 and US SPX 500, while trading at or near GFC highs, are not stretched on P/E’s measures, suggesting further upside is very possible.”

CMC Markets believes that the greatest driver of share market rises in 2012 was the activities of central banks – notably the US Federal Reserve, The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank. The enormous liquidity injections from these banks, combined with government fiscal stimulus and low interest rate regimes, saw individuals and fund managers searching for a suitable home for their investments according to CMC Markets.

McCarthy commented, “The risks of this unprecedented globally co-ordinated stimulus is that the inflation genie will escape its bottle, wreaking havoc  on national economies as cost and asset prices spiral out of control. For this reason, the relevant central banks are keenly watching for the right time to stop stimulating, and then start withdrawing stimulus funds.  The withdrawal of stimulus funds is possibly the greatest threat to the health of global share markets.”

As growth improves, and unemployment falls, markets face a conundrum – an improving economy should mean stimulus withdrawal.  “Central banks will do their utmost to ensure their actions don’t de-rail recovery but markets may well run ahead of Central Bank action. Markets price the future, not the present, and will anticipate withdrawal well before the fact,” said McCarthy.

CMC Markets expects the outlook to have two major implications for traders. Firstly, the possible shape of market moves, regardless of country,  could resemble a sine curve – higher as growth improves, lower as markets anticipate withdrawal, and higher again as an orderly withdrawal soothes market fears. 

Secondly, as in 2012, traders may choose to deal with these non-trending conditions by employing “relative value” trading, buying one index and selling another at the same time. The trader sees profits or losses due to the change in the relationship between the two (or more) indices, while enjoying some protection against sudden shifts in global market sentiment by staying both “long” and “short” in different indices.

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An analysis of CMC Market’s most profitable clients measured by dollar value, found that one of the most popular CFD instrument traded over the last week was the CHINA50, a share index tracking the performance of some of the largest “A” share companies traded in China.  These are companies registered in mainland China whose stocks are traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

CMC Market’s top CFD traders also looked to Finnish company, Nokia.  Shares in Nokia have more than doubled in price from very depressed levels in mid-July as investors embraced its smartphone link up with Microsoft and many of the savvy investors have seen real upside for the company in emerging markets given its lower cost smartphone offering.

The second most profitable company CFD was Shun Tak Holdings, a Hong Kong based property investor and developer with interests in both Hong Kong and Macau. It also has interests in cleaning services, transport and travel agencies. Shun Tak’s shares rose strongly last week as part of a broad based rally in China’s market and following broker upgrades based on an improved outlook for Macau.

Ric Spooner, Chief Market Analyst, CMC Markets, commented: “Our most successful CFD traders are confident and experienced enough to look beyond the mainstream trading instruments to those offering more international exposure.”

CFD Instruments traders by CMC’s most profitable clients over the last week include:

Top 10 traded CFDs (by profitability)

1.       AUD: USD

2.       China A50

3.       Nokia

4.       US SPX 500 ( S&P 500)

5.       Gold

6.       US 30 (Dow Jones Index)

7.       UK 100 (FTSE 100)

8.       EUR: USD

9.       German 30 (DAX)

10.   Shun Tak Holdings

CMC Market’s top traders also looked to the AUD:USD currency pair to produce the best returns from the available CFD currency instruments. The currency pairs that yielded the least profit for the top traders was the USD:JPY.

Ric continued: “Major currencies and leading share indices are traditionally among the most popular trading instruments among our clients. CFDs like the AUD:USD, EUR:USD, US 30 and Gold are highly liquid markets with tight spreads and trade either around the clock or with only a small break which makes them favoured instruments for short term traders.

“The German CFD (based on the DAX index) has grown steadily in popularity amongst our Australian client base. European economies have been an increasing source of focus for international economies since concerns over a possible break-up of the Eurozone began to mount in 2010. Opening at 6pm Australian time and being active during the Australian evening, makes the German and index particularly suitable for part time traders working during the day.”

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