DAX30 Index Day Trading

Day trading DAX30 Index future contracts  or CFDs is suitable for Aussie traders as its trading hours start early in the afternoon (Australian time) and go till mid night. So if you have a day job and therefore trading mostly in the afternoon or if you are not a morning person than this is a great instrument to trade.

What is DAX30 Index

DAX30 is the German index which consists of 30 major German companies traded on Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Its daily range of sometimes over 100 points allows great opportunities for day trading. DAX30 is only traded electronically i.e. no pit trading. Therefore, everyone has the same information and equal opportunity in trading.

DAX30 volume information is available from mostly all trading platforms and brokers, in case your system uses volume analysis.
Most CFD brokers require a margin amount that is not too high and will also charge you a reasonable spread of 1 or 2 points (check with your CFD provider for details).

Low margin for DAX30 CFDs also helps if you want to build up the number of contracts traded using the profits from the running trade.

Why trade DAX30 Index

  • DAX30 is one of the most actively traded index
  • Good volumes
  • High volatility – daily ranges over 100 points most of the days

When to trade DAX30 Index in Australia

DAX30 Futures are traded on continuously on Eurex Exchange (pre-trading, trading and post trading period) starting from 07:30 and closing at 22:30 CET. This means for Aussie traders from 16:00 AEST till 06.30 AEST.

The underlying cash market opens from 09:00 till 17:30 CET and during this period the futures contract is very active.
I primarily focus my trading activity to the first part of the trading day when the cash market is also open -5pm to 1:30 am Australia Eastern time – as it also suits nicely in my daily schedule.

On most days, there are very clear two active trading periods for DAX30 Index when you can expect very high volatility:

  •  One period of high volatility is in the morning, after the opening of the exchange (meaning early afternoon for Australian traders) that accounts for the European information
  • Second period of high volatility is in the afternoon (meaning towards or past mid-night in Australia) when US markets open and most of the US data releases are scheduled for release.

Knowing when volatility is increasing it allows for increased trading opportunities for intra-day traders.

On more general point of trading, it is very clear that there is a correlation between all international markets and they tend to go up or down in pretty much same time.

In principle one can trade which ever market one chooses. However, after several years of observing/trading futures markets, I have concluded that a trader is better served if he/she selects particular market that fits into one’s daily routine and also matches with the chosen trading system.

Always remember that trading CFDs carries a high risk so make sure you know what you are doing.