What the index CFD point value calculator does
On a CFD broker, US30, NAS100 or GER40 are not exchange futures with a fixed multiplier: each broker decides what one lot is worth. At one broker a 1.00-lot US30 position gains $1 for every point the Dow moves; at another it gains $10. The calculator takes your broker's contract size, your lot size and the move in points, and returns the value of a point and the profit or loss in your account currency.
How to use it
- Pick the index. The quote currency follows: dollars for the US indices, euros for GER40, FRA40 and EU50, pounds for UK100, yen for JP225.
- Enter the point value per 1.00 lot in that currency. In MetaTrader this is the symbol's "Contract size" (right-click the symbol in Market Watch, then Specification). The default of 1 is a common setting, not a universal one.
- Enter your size in lots, the current index price (for the notional value) and the move in points — negative for a loss.
- Choose your account currency. If it differs from the index's currency, enter the conversion rate: how much of your currency one unit of the quote currency is worth.
The formula
value per point (quote) = contract size × lots
value per point (account) = value per point (quote) × conversion rate
P&L = points × value per point (account)
notional value = index price × contract size × lots × rate
A point here is a move of 1.0 in the index, for example from 46,000 to 46,001 on the Dow. MetaTrader also uses the word "point" for the smallest price step of a symbol (0.1 or 0.01 on most index CFDs), so a 100-point distance in the terminal may be only 10 or 1 index points.
Worked example
US30, contract size 1: two lots make $2 per point. A 150-point rally pays +$300. At 46,000 the position controls 46,000 × 2 = $92,000 of the index.
GER40 in a USD account, contract size 1: one lot is worth €1 per point. An 80-point move is €80; at 1 EUR = 1.16 USD that is $92.80.
UK100 in a EUR account, contract size 10: 0.50 lots earn £5 per point. A 40-point gain is £200, and at 1 GBP = 1.1466 EUR the result is €229.32.
JP225, contract size 100: one lot earns ¥100 per point. A 200-point move is ¥20,000, or $133.33 at USD/JPY 150 (1 JPY = 0.00666667 USD).
Why the same index pays differently at each broker
Contract sizes of 1, 10 and 100 per lot all exist, sometimes for the same symbol at the same broker on different account types. Some brokers set a minimum of 0.1 lot, or list a mini symbol alongside the standard one. Exchange futures work differently: the E-mini S&P 500 is always $50 per point. If you trade both, the futures tick value calculator covers the exchange side.
The quote currency matters too. A DAX trade in a dollar account earns euros, converted at the current rate when the profit or loss is booked, so the dollar value of a point drifts a little every day with EUR/USD.
Sizing a trade from the point value
Once you know what a point is worth, position sizing is one division. Suppose you risk $200 on a NAS100 trade with an 80-point stop at a broker whose contract size is 1: each lot loses $80 at the stop, so the size is 200 ÷ 80 = 2.5 lots. At a broker with a contract size of 10, the same risk is 0.25 lots. Same trade, same risk, a tenfold difference in the number you type — which is why the contract size is the first thing to check.
Common mistakes
- Assuming $1 per point everywhere. Read the contract size before your first trade on a new broker or account type; a tenfold error in point value is a tenfold error in risk.
- Mixing MetaTrader points and index points. A distance shown as 500 points in the terminal may be 50 index points if prices have one decimal.
- Forgetting the conversion. GER40, UK100 and JP225 results arrive in euros, pounds and yen before your broker converts them.
- Ignoring overnight financing. Index CFDs held past the daily rollover are charged a financing fee; estimate it with the swap calculator.
- Sizing by feel. Divide your risk by the stop distance times the value of a point per lot — the position size calculator does it for indices too.