The Bovespa Index (Índice Bovespa) is a Brazilian stock market index for the São Paulo Stock, Mercantile & Futures Exchange. It consists of about 50 well-traded stocks with more than 80% of the shares traded on the São Paulo exchange. The index started on the 2nd of January 1968 with a base value of 100. In addition to the selection criteria, the index is an accumulation-type index, which includes dividends, subscription options and bonus stocks, and counts them as reinvested and included in the index value.

The Standard & Poor’s 500, known as the S&P 500, is a U.S. stock market index. It’s based on the market capitalization of 500 large companies that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The index is diverse, with stocks from all sectors. The index type is ‘free-float capitalization-weighted’. It’s maintained and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The BSE Sensex, also called the BSE 30 or just SENSEX, is an Indian stock market index. It’s based on 30 large and well-established companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India. The index type is ‘free-float market-weighted’.

The Nikkei 225 index is an index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It’s calculated by the newspaper Nihon Keizai Shinbun. The index type is ‘price weighted’, and is not weighted to reflect any particular industry or sector of the economy.

Crude Oil is often referred to as “the Black Gold”, and is an extremely important commodity in today’s society, being a necessary ingredient for construction, chemical manufacturing, fertilizers and last but certainly not least: propulsion of aircraft, ships, trucks, cars, train locomotives and other vehicles. In our Crude Oil Brent analysis section, we present our analyses of the Brent Continuous Futures contracts in US Dollar terms.

Gold (in USD terms) hardly needs an explanation. The yellowish metal with atomic number 79 has been considered many things over the ages – an inflation hedge, a geopolitical risk hedge, an industrial metal, currency, jewelry, and more.

Just as Gold, Silver hardly needs an explanation either. The grey metallic shining metal with atomic number 47 has seen many uses over the ages – an inflation hedge, a geopolitical risk hedge, an industrial metal, currency, jewelry, medical uses, chemical production, and more.

The CAC 40 index is a French stock market index. It’s calculated by Euronext. The index consists of 40 of the biggest top-100 stocks on the Euronext Paris Exchange. The index type is ‘capitalization weighted’.

The DAX (or DAX 30), is a German blue-chip stock market index. Its constituents are 30 of the biggest companies traded on the Frankfurt stock Exchange. The index calculation type is ‘order book volume and market capitalization’. It’s operated by Deutsche Börse.

The FTSE 100 (FTSE) is a British stock market index for the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The index consists of the 100 largest companies that are traded on the LSE. The index type is ‘capitalization-weighted’. It’s maintained and calculated by the FTSE Group.

The MICEX Index is a Russian stock market index for the Moscow Exchange. It consists of the 50 largest and most-traded Russian stocks on the Moscow Exchange. The index started on the 22nd of September 1997 with a base value of 100. The index is calculated in real time and is measured in Russian Rubles. The index type is ‘capitalization-weighted’.

The OMXSPI (OMXS_PI) is a Swedish stock market index which consists of all stocks that trade on the NASDAQ Stockholm Exchange (formerly known as Stockholm Stock Exchange). The index is naturally diverse, with stocks from all kinds of sectors. The index type is ‘market capitalization-weighted’. It’s maintained and calculated by NASDAQ OMX Nordic.

The WIG Index (WIG) comprises all shares trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange meeting base criteria. The index type is ‘total return’ and includes both share prices as well as dividends.

Since the introduction of the EMU common currency, the Euro, in 1999, the EUR/USD forex cross and its derivatives has become one of the most widely traded financial instruments in the global financial markets.

The USD/JPY forex cross is periodically an indicator of ongoing carry trade operations, where traders short the Yen against the US Dollar and buy risk assets with the borrowings. Presently it’s one of the most important and most traded forex crosses.