The UK100 is a contract for difference that tracks the FTSE 100, the index of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Trading the UK100 CFD lets you go long or short on the whole UK large-cap market from one position on Volity MT, with leverage of up to 1:500 depending on the instrument and no shares to own.
What is the UK100?
UK100 is the CFD ticker most trading platforms use for the FTSE 100, Britain’s headline stock index. The FTSE 100 is compiled by FTSE Russell and holds the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange by full market capitalisation. Membership is reviewed every quarter, so a company that grows into the top 100 is promoted and one that shrinks drops down to the FTSE 250 below it. If the whole idea of an index is new to you, our explainer on what a stock index is covers the basics first.
The UK100 is capitalisation weighted, which means the biggest companies move it the most. It reads as a barometer of the UK large-cap market rather than a single share, so trading it is a way to take a view on the whole index in one instrument. One quirk is worth knowing up front: because roughly three quarters of FTSE 100 revenue is earned abroad, the index often behaves more like a basket of global earnings than a pure bet on the domestic economy.
Which companies are in the FTSE 100?
The FTSE 100 companies ranking is led by a handful of very large names across energy, healthcare, banking, mining and consumer staples. Ordered by market cap, the top of the index is usually anchored by companies such as these.
| Company | Sector | Why it matters to the index |
| AstraZeneca | Pharmaceuticals | Often the single largest weight; the healthcare anchor |
| Shell | Energy | Ties the index to oil and gas prices |
| HSBC | Banking | Exposure to global and Asian credit cycles |
| Unilever | Consumer staples | Defensive, non-cyclical earnings |
| BP | Energy | A second large energy weight alongside Shell |
| Rio Tinto | Mining | Links the index to industrial metals demand |
| Diageo | Consumer staples | Global spirits brands |
| RELX | Data and analytics | Structural growth within a value-heavy index |
Ranking the FTSE 100 companies by market cap shows how top heavy the index is. The ten largest constituents can account for close to half of its total weight, which is why a single earnings shock in AstraZeneca, Shell or HSBC can move the UK100 on its own even when the other 90 members sit still.
How does a UK100 CFD work?
A UK100 CFD is an agreement to exchange the difference in the index price between the moment you open a position and the moment you close it. You never buy the 100 shares, and you do not hold index futures or an exchange traded fund. A contract for difference tracks the price movement, and that has three practical consequences.
- You can go long or short, so a falling index is as tradable as a rising one, and a short position needs no borrowing of stock.
- You post margin rather than the full contract value, so a smaller deposit controls a larger position. Volity offers leverage of up to 1:500 depending on the instrument, and because leverage magnifies losses as much as gains it rewards disciplined sizing.
- You own no shares, which means no voting rights and no dividends paid to you directly. Index CFDs instead carry a dividend adjustment, covered in the costs section below.
That combination is why the UK100 CFD suits active traders who want one clean instrument for the UK market rather than a portfolio of individual shares. Volity offers it as a CFD, so you can trade index CFDs on Volity alongside forex, commodities and crypto in one account, with CySEC-regulated execution under UBK Markets (licence 186/12).
When can you trade the UK100?
The FTSE 100 constituents trade on the London Stock Exchange between 08:00 and 16:30 London time, and that cash session is when the index is most active and its spread is tightest. The UK100 CFD tracks the index through the trading week and often quotes for extended hours around the cash session, so you can react to overnight moves in Asia and the United States before London opens. Volity MT shows the exact hours and the live UK stock market chart for the instrument, so you always trade against a current price rather than a stale one.
Liquidity is deepest at the London open, during the London and New York overlap in the afternoon, and around scheduled UK data such as inflation prints and Bank of England decisions. Spreads tend to widen in the thin hours late at night and over the weekend break.
What does it cost to trade the UK100?
Three cost lines matter on an index CFD, and all of them are visible before you commit to a trade.
- The spread, the gap between the buy and sell price, is your main trading cost. It is quoted in index points and is tightest during the London cash session.
- Overnight financing, or swap, applies to positions held past the daily rollover and reflects the index level and prevailing interest rates. It is usually a debit and occasionally a credit.
- A dividend adjustment applies when FTSE 100 constituents go ex-dividend. Long positions are credited and short positions are debited, so neither side takes a windfall or a hit from the payout itself.
Funding your account in a currency other than the instrument’s quote currency involves a 1% conversion. There is no separate per-trade commission on Standard accounts, since the cost sits in the spread. Volity publishes its pricing in full on the charges and fees page.
What moves the FTSE 100?
If you are asking why the FTSE is falling today, the answer is almost always one of a short list of recurring drivers. Watching them is how experienced traders read the index, rather than chasing a single FTSE 100 news headline.
- The pound matters most. Because most FTSE 100 earnings are in foreign currency, a weaker pound tends to lift the index and a stronger pound tends to weigh on it, an inverse link that catches newcomers out.
- Commodity prices feed straight in, since the heavy energy and mining weights tie the index to oil, gas and metals.
- Global banking sentiment moves it through HSBC and the other financials, which connect the FTSE to worldwide credit conditions and interest rate expectations.
- Bank of England policy shifts the pound and the domestically focused members together on rate decisions and UK inflation data.
- Broad risk appetite pulls the UK100 along with global equities during wide selloffs and rallies.
For the wider picture, the FTSE 250, made up of the next 250 companies below the top 100, is more domestically focused and is often read as a cleaner gauge of the UK economy. There is no standard FTSE 500 index, so searches for “ftse 500 companies” usually mean the FTSE 350, which is the FTSE 100 plus the FTSE 250, or the broader FTSE All-Share.
How to trade the UK100 on Volity
The steps are the same as for any index CFD, and our wider guide to how to trade indices walks through the same discipline across the major benchmarks. In short:
- Open a Volity account and complete the quick KYC checks, or start on a free demo to practise first.
- Fund your wallet by card, SEPA or crypto. Opening an account is free, you can fund from as little as $1, and you can start trading from $50.
- Open the UK100 instrument in Volity MT and study the live chart, using the built-in TradingView charting to mark structure and levels.
- Decide your direction from your own analysis, set your position size from the margin shown on the order ticket, and attach a stop-loss and a take-profit.
- Place the order, then manage the position: trail your stop as the trade moves your way and record the result for review.
Leverage is the reason regulators watch this corner of the market closely. Both ESMA and the FCA cap how much leverage retail clients can use on CFDs and require clear risk warnings, precisely because a leveraged position on the UK100 can lose money as fast as it can make it. Trade with a stop, size from your own risk, and use money you can afford to lose.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK100 index?
The UK100 is the CFD ticker for the FTSE 100, the index of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalisation. Trading the UK100 gives you exposure to the whole UK large-cap market in one instrument, rather than buying individual shares.
Is the UK100 the same as the FTSE 100?
Yes. UK100 is simply the name most trading platforms give to a CFD that tracks the FTSE 100. The price follows the FTSE 100 closely, but as a CFD it lets you go long or short with leverage and carries financing and dividend adjustments rather than paying dividends directly.
Why is the FTSE 100 falling today?
Day-to-day moves usually trace back to a strengthening pound, falling commodity prices, weakness in global banks, a hawkish Bank of England signal, or a broad risk-off move in world markets. Because most FTSE earnings are foreign, a rising pound often pushes the index lower even when UK news looks positive.
Can I trade the UK100 with a small account?
Yes. Because a UK100 CFD is leveraged, you can open a position with margin rather than the full contract value. Opening an account is free, you can fund from as little as $1, and you can start trading from $50. Leverage raises risk as well as potential return, so start on a demo, size positions from your stop distance, and use money you can afford to lose.
