To answer this question, you have to consider the difference between buying stocks and speculating online. Indeed, if you actually buy shares of companies listed on the NASDAQ, you will be able to pay them in euros but you will suffer an exchange rate with the dollar. If you trade these stocks online, your investments will only be in your main currency with no exchange rate applied.
How and where to buy NASDAQ shares?
European stock market investors have often been forced to invest only in European stocks, which were the only ones accessible from their traditional investment products. However, it is now possible to invest in stocks from all over the world, including Nasdaq listed stocks, using an online trading platform. In this article we will tell you a little more about these popular stocks from around the world and explain where and how you can buy or speculate on them.
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What is the NASDAQ and what stocks are listed on it?
First of all, let's do a little reminder about the NASDAQ and its stock index of the same name. The NASDAQ, whose name stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is the second largest market in the United States and is positioned just after the NYSE. It is also the world's largest electronic stock trading venue.
The NASDAQ market has its own stock index, the NASDAQ 100, which is made up of the 100 companies, as its name suggests. As with most stock market indices, the stocks on the NASDAQ are those with the largest total capitalizations. Some of the most popular stocks in this stock index and financial center of the NASDAQ include the big technology stocks including Netflix, Google, Amazon, Apple and many others.
What are the different ways to buy Nasdaq listed shares?
Of course, it is still possible to buy shares of NASDAQ-listed companies through traditional investment products such as securities accounts, when the funds include foreign stocks. Unfortunately, these funds are relatively rare and often expensive for European investors.
But for some years now, there has been another way to invest in American stocks and thus in NASDAQ shares. Indeed, it is enough to join the online trading through brokers who offer specific contracts to speculate on the rise or fall of the price of these stocks online.
These contracts are called Contracts for Difference or CFDs and do not require you to actually buy shares. The principle here is to take an up or down position on Nasdaq stocks and the gain or loss will be the difference in price of the stock concerned between the time the position is opened and the time it is closed.
It is important to note here that these platforms also allow you to speculate directly on the price of the NASDAQ stock index, according to the same principle, and not only on the price of the shares that make it up.
Some examples of stocks you can trade on the NASDAQ:
As mentioned above, the NASDAQ stock index consists of many shares of very large, globally known companies whose stocks are therefore particularly popular.
For example, you can trade the Apple stock, which is currently the second most traded stock in this index and whose issuer specializes in the design and manufacture of mobile communication devices.
You can also trade the Meta stock, which is also one of the most popular at the moment, or the shares of large technology groups such as Amazon or Google.
What indicators should I follow to take a position on the NASDAQ?
As you may already know, the NASDAQ is a stock market index that tends to reflect the activity of companies in the technology sector on the stock market. So if you want to trade it or some of its stocks, you'll need to take a closer look at technology and advances in it.
If you are speculating on one or more NASDAQ stocks, you will also need to conduct accurate analyses of these companies, taking into account various environmental, competitive, financial and strategic factors, which will help you assess how the company may progress in the years to come. Don't forget to use technical analysis and stock charts to assess the strength and volatility of the market and confirm or deny your predictions.
Finally, if you are trading directly on the NASDAQ, there will be a wider range of factors to consider, including global economic data, geo-political conflicts and regulations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all NASDAQ stocks available online?
Of course, not all stocks that make up the NASDAQ are necessarily available online. However, most of the stocks of the companies that make up the NASDAQ 100 stock index are offered by the CFD trading platforms in the market. To ensure that you can trade the stock(s) you are interested in, be sure to check whether your broker offers them before creating your online trading account.
Are NASDAQ stocks more attractive than other stocks?
No! Stocks that are listed on the NASDAQ market are no more or less interesting than any other. The only advantages that these securities can present are their rather strong liquidity and the interesting amount of information that it is possible to find online about the companies that issue them. Let us recall here that it is your capacity to detect good stock exchange opportunities that will make the difference.
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% of retail CFD accounts lose money. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
