Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Free EbookNavigating risks amid volatile marketsManaging Volatile Market Risks

Shares trading

Spread bet or trade CFDs on over 10,000 shares with leverage, on our award-winning platform1. With tight spreads, lightning-fast execution2, and UK-based customer support whenever the markets are open.

FCA regulated

Protected up to £85,0003

FTSE-listed group

2023 No.1 Web-based Platform1

2022 Best CFD Provider1

2021 Best Spread Betting Provider1

Most popular shares

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

More than a shares trading platform

Your favourites in one place

Spread bet or trades CFDs on over 10,000 shares, including the 250 biggest UK shares and the most popular US stocks.

Professional research

Free access to quantitative equity analysis from Morningstar.

Minimal slippage

With fully automated, lightning-fast execution in 0.0030 seconds2.

No partial fills

Get the trade you want – we don't reject or partially fill trades based on size.

UK-based customer service

Award-winning service1 24/5, whenever you're trading.

No currency risk

Avoid the risk of currency fluctuations which may otherwise impact returns, when you spread bet.

Trade on over 10,000
shares

Get exposure to the world's largest companies from Apple to Lloyds Banking Group, via spread betting and CFDs, with spreads from as low as 0.10 points.

MOST POPULAR

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GROWTH

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TECHNOLOGY

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BANKING

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EFTS

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consumer & Retail

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share baskets

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Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Exclusive to CMC

Unlock your potential with CMC Alpha
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Unlock your potential

With our new premium membership, CMC Alpha, you'll join a community of like-minded traders who receive all these benefits (and more).

  • Save from 5% to 40% on spreads4
  • Free Financial Times subscription5
  • Priority customer service
Discover ALPHA

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Look for opportunities with ShareBaskets
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Looking for an opportunity?

We’ve analysed the trends driving the market and grouped shares into topical buckets like Driverless Cars or Renewable Energy, to allow you to trade across a trending theme with a single position.

The platform built for
shares trading

Fast execution, exclusive insights and accurate signals are vital to your success when you spread bet or trade CFDs on shares. Our award-winning trading platform was built with the successful share trader in mind.

Pattern recognition scanner

We automatically scan over 120 of our most popular instruments every 15 minutes for emerging and completed chart patterns, such as wedges, channels and head & shoulders formations, and overlay them on to your charts to alert you to potentially emerging trends.

Learn more about our trading platform

Advanced order execution

We offer a range of advanced order types, including trailing and guaranteed stop losses, partial closure, market orders and boundary orders on every trade, so you have the flexibility to trade your way.

Reuters news and analysis

Keep your finger on the pulse with Reuters news and market commentary from our global analysts.

Industry-leading charting

Choose from over 115 technical indicators and drawing tools, more than 70 patterns and 12 in-built chart types.

Platform Android

Powerful trading on the move

Packed with cutting-edge features, yet intuitive, and available to everyone – whatever the next step in your trading journey, our platform is ready to help you get there.

And when you trade on the move, our advanced mobile app gives you all the functionality of our web platform in your pocket.

30+ years. 1 million+ global traders and investors.

As a financial services pioneer we've got the expertise allied to more than 30 years' industry experience. That's why over 1 million global traders and investors6 put their confidence in us.

FCA regulated

Protected up to £85,0002

FTSE-listed group

2023 No.1 Web-based platform1

2022 Best CFD Provider1

2021 Best Spread Betting Provider1

Podcast

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Jack Schwager,
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Ready to find your flow?

Start trading with a live account or try a demo with £10,000 of virtual funds.

FAQs

New to CMC Markets?

Is it free to open an account?

There's no cost when opening a live spread betting or CFD account. You can also view prices and use tools such as charts, Reuters news or Morningstar quantitative equity reports, free of charge. However, you will need to deposit funds in your account to place a trade. You can find out more about the costs of placing a trade.

Is CMC Markets regulated by the FCA?

Yes, CMC Markets UK plc (registration number 173730) and CMC Spreadbet plc (registration number 170627) are fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Retail client money is held in segregated client bank accounts and money held on behalf of clients is distributed across a range of major banks, which are regularly assessed against our risk criteria.

Is CMC Markets covered by the FSCS?

Yes, your eligible deposits with CMC Markets are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensations Scheme (FSCS), the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. If CMC Markets ever went into liquidation, retail clients would have their share of segregated money returned, minus the administrator's costs in handling and distributing these funds. Any shortfall of funds up to £85,000 may be compensated under the FSCS.

How does CMC Markets protect my money?

As a CMC client, your money is held separately from CMC Markets' own funds, so that under property, trust and insolvency law, your money is protected. Therefore your money is unavailable to general creditors of the firm, if the firm fails.

How does CMC Markets make money?

Our income primarily comes from our spreads, while other fees, such as overnight holding costs, make a minor contribution to our overall revenue.

We never aim to profit from our clients' losses. Our aim is to build long-term relationships by providing the best possible trading experience through our technology and customer service.

What can I trade on with CMC?

You can trade on 12,000 markets when you spread bet with CMC Markets. See a list of all our popular markets and instruments.

New to share trading?

What is share trading?

Share trading in the underlying market is the buying and selling of company shares with the aim of making a profit. Shares represent a portion of ownership of a public company. At CMC Markets, we offer the opportunity to spread bet or trade CFDs on shares, so you don’t actually own the underlying share. Learn more about share trading.

What is leveraged trading?

One of the features of spread betting and CFD trading is that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of your position to open a trade, known as trading on leverage. Remember, trading on leverage can also amplify losses, so it’s important to manage your risk.

How does spread betting/trading CFDs on shares actually work?

When you spread bet or trade CFDs on shares on our platform, you don’t buy or sell the underlying share. Instead, you’re taking a position on whether you think the company’s share price will go up or down.

With spread betting, you buy or sell an amount per point movement for the share instrument you are trading, such as £5 per point. This is known as your stake. With CFD trading, you buy or sell a number of units for a particular instrument. For every point or unit that the price moves in your favour, you gain multiples of your stake, and vice versa.

As an example, say you wanted to buy £1,300 worth of Lloyds penny shares at £65 per share. For the spread betting equivalent of this trade, you would specify a stake size of £20 per point to get the same exposure as you would if you bought 20 Lloyds shares at £65 through traditional share dealing. Due to the leverage available with spread betting (5:1 in this case), you would be able to enter this position with an initial outlay of £260, instead of £1,300. However, remember that your profits and losses are based on the full value of the trade (£1,300). As a retail client, you will never lose more than the amount in your account.

Read our debate on spread betting vs CFDs and see our list of penny stocks in the UK​ for more information.

How does the additional spread on share spread bets work?

Share spread bets have an additional spread added either side of the existing spread. See our UK and US share spread bet examples below.

UK shares example:

CFD price/underlying sell/buy price: 250p / 255p
CMC 0.1% additional spread to be added either side, widening the spread:
250p – (0.1% of 250) / 255p + (0.1% of 255)
Spread bet sell/buy price = 249.75p / 255.25p

US shares example:

Share price | Cost
$0-15 | 1 cent (each side)
$15-25 | 2 cents (each side)
$25-35 | 3 cents (each side)
$35+ | 4 cents (each side)

CFD price/underlying price: $25.50 / $25.58
Share price falls into bracket three: $25-35.
So, 3 cents is added to both sides, widening the spread:
$25.50 – $0.03 / $25.58 + $0.03
Spread bet sell/buy price = $25.47 / $25.61

Why spread betting?

Spread betting allows you to trade tax-free on a wide range of financial markets 24 hours a day, from Sunday nights through to Friday nights. Trade on your phone, tablet, PC or Mac on a wide range of instruments using leverage. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK. Read our article on how to spread bet to learn more.

Do spread bets on shares attract dividends?

When a stock goes ex-dividend, the value of that stock effectively falls by the dividend amount. This means if you hold a spread bet or CFD position on a company which announces a dividend, your account will be credited or debited on the day the stock goes ex-dividend.

If you were long (holding a buy position), you would have been disadvantaged by the drop in the market caused by the pay out of the dividend, so we would credit your account with the dividend amount, less any applicable dividend withholding taxes. If you were short the stock, you would benefit from the drop in the price, so the equivalent amount would be deducted. So, overall, you don't lose or gain anything from the adjustment. There are no withholding taxes on short positions. The dividend will appear as a 'Price Adjustment' in your account history within the platform.

1Awarded No.1 Web Platform and No.1 Most Currency Pairs, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2023; No.1 Platform Technology, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2022; Best CFD Provider, Online Money Awards 2022; Best Mobile Trading Platform, ADVFN International Financial Awards 2022; Best In-House Analysts, Professional Trader Awards 2022; Best Spread Betting Provider, City of London Wealth Management Awards 2021.
20.0030 seconds CFD median trade execution time, CMC Markets financial year 2021-22.
3FSCS is an independent body that offers protection to customers of financial services firms that have failed. The compensation amount may be up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm. Eligibility conditions apply. Please contact the FSCS for more information.
4Max discount in tier. Discounts are based on our tiered-volume discount scheme and are variable per product. View our CMC Price+ page for more details.
5T&Cs apply. 'FT' and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Limited.
61.388 million unique user logins for the CMC Markets invest and CFD platforms globally, as at August 2023.

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