What 1 point is on UK100
UK100 is a CFD on the FTSE 100, quoted in pounds. Capital.com and Purple Trading publish a contract size of 1: a point is £1 per lot, converted at GBP/USD for a USD account ($1.33 at 1.33).
At about 9,700 the index moves less in points than the DAX, so stops are shorter. Purple Trading also lists a "FTSE" product with a contract size of 10, a separate instrument from its UK100.
UK100 point value per lot
Value of one point (1.00 in price): 1 × 1 = £1 × 1.33 = $1.33 per 1.00 lot, at an example GBP/USD rate of 1.33, with a contract size of 1.
| Position | 1 point | 40 points (40.00) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | $1.33 | $53.20 |
| 0.10 lot | $0.13 | $5.32 |
| 0.01 lot | $0.0133 | $0.53 |
Worked example: 1% of $10,000
- Risk: 1% × $10,000 = $100.00.
- Stop: 40 points = 40.00 in price.
- Value of 1 point per 1.00 lot: $1.33.
- Lot size = $100.00 ÷ (40 × $1.33) = 1.8797, rounded down to the 0.01 step: 1.87 lots.
The exact size is 1.8797 lots, rounded down to 1.87.
Contract size and tick value in MT5
In MetaTrader 5, right-click UK100 in Market Watch and choose Specification: it shows Contract size, Digits, Profit currency and the volume limits. Tick size and tick value are what MQL5 reads with SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE and SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE; the script below prints them for your account.
| Contract size | 1 at the brokers below; 10 on Purple Trading's separate "FTSE" product |
|---|---|
| Digits | 1 or 2 depending on the broker |
| Tick size (SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE) | 0.1 or 0.01 |
| Profit currency | GBP |
| Tick value, 1.00 lot (SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE) | contract size × tick size in GBP, converted to your account currency |
| Value of 1 FTSE point per lot | contract size × £1 |
Published values, checked on 2026-11-12. Specifications change and can differ by account type: your own Specification window is the reference.
| Source | Symbol there | Contract size | Price step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital.com | UK100 | 1 | 1 digit |
| Purple Trading | UK100 | 1 | 0.01 |
| Purple Trading | FTSE | 10 | 0.01 |
MQL5: lot size from a money risk
A script that sends no order: it reads the contract size, tick size, tick value and volume limits your broker sets for UK100, then prints the lot size that risks 1% of the balance at the stop. The stop is a price distance (40.00), so the result is the same on 2-, 3- or 5-digit quotes. Save it as MQL5/Scripts/LotSize_UK100.mq5 and compile it in MetaEditor (F7): 0 errors, 0 warnings.
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| LotSize_UK100.mq5 |
//| Lot size that risks a % of the balance at a given stop distance|
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
#property script_show_inputs
input string InpSymbol = "UK100"; // Symbol, exactly as in Market Watch
input double InpRiskPercent = 1.0; // Risk per trade, % of balance
input double InpStopDistance = 40.00; // Stop-loss distance in price (40.00 = 40 points)
// Lots that lose about riskMoney at the stop, rounded down to the volume step.
// Returns 0 when even the minimum volume would risk more than riskMoney.
double LotsForRisk(const string symbol, const double riskMoney, const double stopDistance)
{
double tickSize = SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE);
double tickValue = SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE); // 1.00 lot, one tick, account currency
double step = SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_VOLUME_STEP);
double minLot = SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_VOLUME_MIN);
double maxLot = SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_VOLUME_MAX);
if(tickSize <= 0.0 || tickValue <= 0.0 || step <= 0.0 || stopDistance <= 0.0)
return 0.0;
double lossPerLot = stopDistance / tickSize * tickValue; // money lost by 1.00 lot at the stop
double lots = MathFloor(riskMoney / lossPerLot / step + 1e-9) * step;
if(lots < minLot)
return 0.0;
int volumeDigits = (int)MathMax(0.0, MathCeil(-MathLog10(step) - 1e-9));
return NormalizeDouble(MathMin(lots, maxLot), volumeDigits);
}
void OnStart()
{
if(!SymbolSelect(InpSymbol, true))
{
PrintFormat("%s not found: use the exact name from Market Watch (some brokers add a suffix)", InpSymbol);
return;
}
int digits = (int)SymbolInfoInteger(InpSymbol, SYMBOL_DIGITS);
double point = SymbolInfoDouble(InpSymbol, SYMBOL_POINT);
double contract = SymbolInfoDouble(InpSymbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_CONTRACT_SIZE);
double tickSize = SymbolInfoDouble(InpSymbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE);
double tickVal = SymbolInfoDouble(InpSymbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE);
string currency = AccountInfoString(ACCOUNT_CURRENCY);
double risk = AccountInfoDouble(ACCOUNT_BALANCE) * InpRiskPercent / 100.0;
double lots = LotsForRisk(InpSymbol, risk, InpStopDistance);
PrintFormat("%s: contract size %g, %d digits, tick size %s, tick value %g %s per lot",
InpSymbol, contract, digits, DoubleToString(tickSize, digits), tickVal, currency);
PrintFormat("Stop %s = %.0f points. Risk %.2f %s",
DoubleToString(InpStopDistance, digits), InpStopDistance / point, risk, currency);
if(lots > 0.0)
PrintFormat("Lot size: %g", lots);
else
Print("Even the minimum volume risks more than that: widen the risk or tighten the stop");
}
The key line is stopDistance / tickSize * tickValue: the money one lot loses at the stop, already converted to your account currency by the terminal. Dividing the risk by it and flooring to SYMBOL_VOLUME_STEP gives the volume to pass to CTrade::Buy() or CTrade::Sell().
Pine Script v6 equivalent
The same sizing on a TradingView chart, from syminfo.pointvalue (money per 1.0 of price per unit) and syminfo.mintick (the chart's tick). Checked by Edgoro Pine Check; paste it into TradingView's Pine Editor to add it to a chart.
//@version=6
indicator("UK100 lot size for a money risk", overlay = true)
riskMoney = input.float(100.0, "Risk per trade (account currency)", minval = 0.01)
accountCcy = input.string("USD", "Account currency")
stopDistance = input.float(40.00, "Stop-loss distance (price)", minval = 0.0)
contractSize = input.float(1.0, "Units per 1.00 lot at your broker", minval = 0.0)
// One unit of the symbol gains or loses syminfo.pointvalue (in syminfo.currency) per 1.0 of price
fx = request.currency_rate(syminfo.currency, accountCcy)
lossPerUnit = stopDistance * syminfo.pointvalue * fx
units = lossPerUnit > 0 ? riskMoney / lossPerUnit : na
lots = contractSize > 0 ? math.floor(units / contractSize * 100) / 100 : na
var table info = table.new(position.top_right, 2, 3, bgcolor = color.new(color.gray, 80))
if barstate.islast
table.cell(info, 0, 0, "Stop")
table.cell(info, 1, 0, str.tostring(stopDistance / syminfo.mintick, "#") + " ticks of " + str.tostring(syminfo.mintick))
table.cell(info, 0, 1, "Units")
table.cell(info, 1, 1, str.tostring(units, "#.####"))
table.cell(info, 0, 2, "Lots (rounded down)")
table.cell(info, 1, 2, str.tostring(lots, "#.##"))
On a CFD chart syminfo.pointvalue is usually 1, so units is the number of index units: set the contract size input to your broker's value. On a futures chart, syminfo.pointvalue already includes the contract multiplier, so units are contracts and the contract size input should be 1.
Common mistakes on UK100
- Pounds, not dollars. Sizing with $1 per point gives 2.50 lots and a loss of about $133 at the stop.
- Two products, two contract sizes. Check that the symbol you trade is the one whose Contract size you read.
- Converting with EUR/USD. The FTSE is priced in pounds: the rate is GBP/USD.
Lot size sets how much a trade loses if the stop is hit at its price. It doesn't make a trade a good one, and gaps or slippage can make the loss larger. Trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Edgoro is a software tool, not a broker or financial adviser: nothing it produces is investment advice, and past or backtested performance does not guarantee future results.