just now
**August 24, 2022 - City Index, a provider of global trading platforms, today announced a raft of measures to help bridge the gap for Australians wishing to trade US markets.
The company says that while US stocks provide Australian traders with access to sectors and corporate dynamics on a scale that differs to any other market in the world, accessibility issues often mean that international share exposure remains a limited part of Australian portfolios.
Tom Brown, Head of Australia at City Index, commented: "Whether you're trading pharmaceutical names, automakers, or tech stocks, the US is the only market in the world where you'll find trillion-dollar companies moving at such a rate of change that their influence will have a ripple effect across all international markets. With global narratives making such an impact on companies and their share prices in the last two years, the US has proven to be an extremely important market for all traders."
In addition to announcing commission-free trading, City Index has also offered its clients the opportunity to participate in extended hours trading, which will apply to the largest, most liquid share CFDs. Large caps including Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft will continue to trade beyond the closing 4pm bell in New York.
Tom Brown says that these changes help to address accessibility issues experienced by traders in the past:
"The largest stockbrokers in Australia also carry with them the highest fees for trading international stocks, where traders have been deterred by c.A$30 minimum commissions. Among City Index clients, this was one of the three biggest barriers to entering the US market, alongside trading hours and education. To make this market more accessible, City Index has addressed all three."
Brown was also quick to point out that, as traders begin to explore new markets, City Index has a responsibility to provide education and analysis that will support their journey:
"City Index's Trading Academy hosts 8 courses ranging from technical analysis to advanced trading strategies, containing some 60 individual lessons."
