Dealing hours
Delta index opens from 7am till 9:15pm, Monday to Friday. Trading times vary with each individual market. These are summarised below. Note that times may be subject to change due to public holidays, daylight saving time, emergencies etc. at the discretion of local exchanges. Delta Index will endeavour to inform clients of known changes to market opening hours in good time. All times are Irish time unless otherwise stated.
Range of markets
We quote a wide range of markets which continues to expand on a daily basis. If there’s a particular share that you wish to trade but is not on the site, please contact us to request it. If there is reasonable liquidity in the underlying market we will add it within 48 hours. You can do this by calling our helpline on or sending an email to client@deltindex.com.
Types of contract
Delta Index offers two types of contracts on shares: Quarterly and Rolling. Quarterly bets are essentially a futures contract. The price is calculated by taking the current cash price of the underlying market, adjusting it to account for financing and expected dividends over the period. A Delta Index spread is then applied. The contract will run until expiry date when clients have the option to ‘roll over’ (see below) the position, close it out, or leave it to expire. Note that opening and closing positions can be done at any time as long as the market is open.
Rolling bets do not have an expiry date. Positions will remain open until manually closed or an associated order is triggered. An overnight financing adjustment will be made for each night the position is held. This can be a debit or a credit depending on whether the position is long or short and the level of the underlying interest rate.
Calculation of overnight adjustment:
Adjustment = (p * s * (r +/- 2.5%)) / 365
p = current mid-price
r = applicable interest rate
s = client stake per point in £
Spreads
Delta Index offer wrapped pricing on shares. The spread charged to you (dealing spread) is wrapped around the market spread. In practice: if the market spread on a contract is 6 points and our dealing spread is 2 points, the total spread will be 8 points. If the market spread narrows by 1 then the total spread will also narrow by 1 point to 7 points in total. Wrapped pricing allows us to provide you consistent tight dealing spreads, no matter how the market spread changes.
Expiry and rollover
Rolling bets roll over each night until a client closes the position. Quarterly markets expire approximately every three months, in March, June, September and December. Clients who wish to maintain their position into the following quarter may opt to ‘roll over’ their current open position. This may be done over the phone or online, any time before expiry, as long as the next calendar contract is available. There is a charge of half of the spread to do this. Positions that are not rolled over will be closed out at expiry price. Rollover trades create a new contract; hence existing orders associated with the old contract will no longer apply. Unless you have agreed otherwise, a new automatic stop order will be created against the new position.
Margin and margin calls
There is a margin requirement associated with each individual share. This is determined based on the volatility of the underlying market. At all times clients must have the required margin in their account to keep the position open. Margin requirement can be calculated as (Margin * Stake). If this is not maintained the position may be closed. While Delta Index will endeavour to communicate with clients if your margin thresholds are not met, fast moving markets may make this difficult and Delta Index will not be held responsible. It is the client’s responsibility to maintain enough funds in account to cover any margin requirements. For further details please refer to Delta Index terms & conditions.
Bet size
Each market has an associated minimum and maximum stake allowed per trade. These are general guidelines and clients should note that larger sizes may be traded over the phone at the discretion of the dealer, depending on the liquidity available in the underlying market.
Bet denomination
All stakes are in Pounds Sterling and all profits/losses incurred are in Pounds Sterling. This benefits clients who wish to trade markets outside of the UK (i.e. US or German shares) since positions remain in Sterling, thus removing any currency exposure.
Phone only
Occasionally due to underlying illiquidity or during a large news announcement, some markets may be placed on ‘Phone only’, restricting online trading. This is usually a short term measure until normal conditions in the market resume.
Dividends
Clients benefit from any dividends paid by companies in which they have a position.
Prices for quarterly contracts have already built in the dividend. Thus on the day the shares goes ex-dividend, the cash price of the underlying should fall by the amount of the dividend (all other things being equal). However, since the quarterly price has already been adjusted, it will not change. Thus, rather than receiving a cash payment into their account, long position holders are protected from the fall in the cash price, thereby receiving the benefit of the dividend (minus tax). Conversely, clients with short positions will not benefit from the same fall in the cash price, thus essentially paying the dividend.
For a rolling bet the dividend is applied as a cash transaction on client’s accounts, applied on the day the stock goes ex-dividend. Clients with long positions will receive the dividend payment (account credit), clients with short positions will pay the dividend (account debit). All dividends are subject to withholding tax. This will vary depending on the jurisdiction of the underlying shares.
Corporate actions
Stock splits/consolidation, rights issues and corporate actions may affect the price of the shares. When these occur, Delta Index will, as soon as the information is available, communicate to clients any impact upon their positions and necessary actions.. Details of upcoming corporate actions are also posted on our website.
Spreads
Rolling Equity Markets
|
Range |
Spread |
IMR* |
 |
<$16 |
4 points fixed |
10-25% |
| |
$16-$20 |
0.125% each side |
10-25% |
| |
$20-$80 |
0.20% each side |
10-25% |
| |
> $80 |
16 points fixed |
10-25% |
 |
FTSE100 |
0.075% each side |
10-25% |
| |
All others |
0.15% each side |
10-25% |
 |
All < €5 |
1 point fixed |
10-25% |
| |
Major |
0.20% each side |
10-25% |
| |
Minor |
0.30% each side |
10-25% |
 |
All |
0.15% each side |
10-25% |
Quarterly Equity Markets
|
Range |
Near Spread |
Far Spread |
IMR* |
|
<$16 |
4 points fixed |
5 points fixed |
10-25% |
| |
$16-$50 |
0.30% each side |
0.40% each side |
10-25% |
| |
> $50 |
30 points fixed |
40 points fixed |
10-25% |
|
All |
0.20% each side |
0.30% each side |
10-25% |
|
All < €5 |
1 point fixed |
1 point fixed |
10-25% |
| |
Major |
0.25% each side |
0.35% each side |
10-25% |
| |
Minor |
0.40% each side |
0.50% |
10-25% |
|
All |
0.25% each side |
0.35% each side |
10-25% |
* IMR: Initial Margin Requirement.
Please note: Spread and margin information is indicative only. For up-to-date spreads on hundreds of markets please log on to our online trading platform.