The markets, explained.
What each market is, what moves its prices and how it trades.
Choose a market
Forex
Currency pairs, where one currency is priced against another.
Indices
A single price that follows a basket of company shares.
Commodities
Raw materials, from energy to agricultural products.
Precious metals
Metals valued for their scarcity and long history as a store of value.
Shares
Prices that follow individual companies listed on stock exchanges.
ETFs
Funds that trade on an exchange in the same way as a single share.
How the markets differ
The markets on this site differ in what their prices follow, when they trade and what tends to move them.
- Forex prices one currency against another. It has no central exchange, and trading passes between financial centres around the clock through the working week.
- Indices follow the combined value of a group of company shares, so one price reflects many companies at once.
- Commodities follow raw materials such as oil, gas and farm products, whose prices respond to supply, the weather and demand from industry.
- Precious metals such as gold and silver are held as a store of value as well as used in industry, and often draw buyers when other markets are unsettled.
- Shares follow a single company listed on a stock exchange, and move with its results and the news about it.
- ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, usually hold a basket of assets, and are bought and sold on an exchange in the same way as a share.
What they have in common
Each of these markets can be traded through a contract for difference, or CFD: an agreement to exchange the difference between the price when a position opens and the price when it closes. A CFD follows a price without you owning the asset, so it can be used to take a view that a price will fall as well as rise.
Which markets and instruments Noryn Markets offers is confirmed on request, through the contact form.
Questions about the markets
What is a CFD?
A contract for difference: an agreement to exchange the difference between the price of an asset when a position opens and its price when the position closes. The position gains if the price moves the way you expected, and loses if it moves the other way.
Do I own the asset when I trade a CFD?
No. A CFD follows the price of the asset, but the asset itself never becomes yours, so none of the rights of ownership come with it, such as a shareholder’s vote.
Why do markets trade at different times?
Each market is most active when the centres that trade it are open. Currencies trade through the working week, while shares, indices and funds mostly follow the opening hours of the exchanges they belong to.
Which markets does Noryn Markets offer?
This site describes six groups: forex, indices, commodities, precious metals, shares and ETFs, each with a page of its own. Which instruments inside them Noryn Markets offers, and the terms they trade on, are confirmed on request through the contact form.
Where are the account types compared?
On the accounts page, which sets the account types side by side and explains each term in the comparison.
Found a market that interests you?
Register your interest, and say which markets you would like to hear about.
Open accountImportant information
Trading forex and contracts for difference involves a high level of risk, and it is not suitable for every investor. These products use leverage, which means a position can be held with only part of its value set aside as margin, and leverage magnifies gains and losses alike. A position may be closed when margin requirements are not met. Markets can move quickly, and at times a market can be difficult to trade at all. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Nothing on this website is investment advice or a recommendation, and nothing here takes account of your objectives, your experience or your circumstances. Consider your own circumstances, and seek independent advice before you act.
The six pages linked from here explain markets in general terms, for people deciding whether they want to learn more. They are not advice about any market, and they do not say which instruments can be traded through Noryn Markets.