Pips and points on indices
Index CFDs such as US30, NAS100 and US500 are measured in points: a move from 51,800 to 51,801 is one point. Some traders and brokers call a point a pip, and a few call 0.1 a pip, which is why index pip values look different from site to site. The calculator works in whole index points. MT5 "points" are different again: they are the smallest price step, so on an index quoted with two decimals, 100 MT5 points is one index point.
Point value = 1 point × Contract size × Lots
Point value by contract size
| Contract size | 1 point, 1 lot | 10 points, 1 lot | 100 points, 1 lot | 100 points, 0.10 lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | $0.10 | $1 | $10 | $1 |
| 1 | $1 | $10 | $100 | $10 |
| 10 | $10 | $100 | $1,000 | $100 |
With a contract size of 1, which many brokers use, one point on 1 lot is $1, so a 100-point move is $100. With a contract size of 10 the same move is $1,000. The only way to know is your platform: in MT5, right-click the symbol in Market Watch, choose Specification and read the contract size. Enter it under Contract settings in the calculator.
A worked example on US30
Buy 0.50 lots of US30 with a contract size of 1 and close 150 points higher. Profit = 150 × 1 × 0.50 = $75. With a contract size of 10 the same trade makes $750. Size index trades from your stop loss in points with the NAS100 lot size calculator, which works for US30 and US500 too.
US30, NAS100 and US500 compared
- US30 tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 30 large US companies. It has the highest price of the three, so a 1% move is the most points.
- NAS100 tracks the Nasdaq-100, mostly technology companies, and often moves the most in percentage terms.
- US500 tracks the S&P 500 and has the lowest price, so the same percentage move is fewer points.
Because the prices differ so much, a 100-point stop means very different things: it's a small move on US30 and a large one on US500. Think in points relative to the index's usual daily range, not in fixed numbers.
Index trading hours in IST
US index CFDs trade almost around the clock on most platforms, with a short daily break. The big moves usually come at the New York cash open, 9:30 a.m. New York time: that's 19:00 IST while the US is on daylight saving time (second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November) and 20:00 IST the rest of the year. Major US data such as the jobs report and inflation figures come out at 8:30 a.m. New York time, 18:00 or 19:00 IST, and can move indices sharply before the open. The market hours clock shows the sessions live.