Markets Overview

What is on the markets page

The markets page lists every instrument available in the simulator, grouped by asset class: US equities, cryptocurrencies, exchange-traded funds, major and minor forex pairs, and commodities. Each row shows a generated practice price and practice change, and links to a dedicated page for that instrument. Changes are seeded initially and then describe the latest generated update, not a measured daily return.

The Markets page uses simulated practice prices and estimated changes for visual feedback. Provider-backed, delayed or cached data may appear elsewhere on TradeHQ and is labelled separately when available. This is a learning environment, not a market-data terminal — do not use these quotes for any real decision.

How to choose what to practise first

• Start with something you already understand as a customer or user — a retailer, an index ETF, or a currency you have actually spent.
• Prefer liquid, well-covered instruments. Thin instruments punish beginners with wide spreads and erratic prices.
• Choose a manageable set of instruments and record what each exercise tests. No fixed study period establishes competence.
• Read the instrument's guide page before the first practice order so you know what typically moves it.

Asset classes explained briefly

• Stocks: fractional ownership of a listed company; move on earnings, guidance, sector rotation and rates.
• ETFs: funds with stated holdings and objectives. Diversification, concentration, leverage and product structure affect risk.
• Crypto: 24/7 markets with no closing bell, high volatility and a strong link to overall market liquidity.
• Forex: relative pricing of two currencies; driven by rate differentials, inflation prints and risk appetite.
• Commodities: exposures linked to physical goods, supply, demand and seasonal conditions. Company earnings and equity prices can also have seasonal influences.

Reading a market list without being misled

A percentage move needs a clearly stated interval, observation source and comparison sample. A 3% move can have different meanings for different instruments and periods; it is not a permanent volatility category. Generated practice changes do not establish a real-market daily range.

Volume describes trading activity when it is supplied by a valid market-data source. It does not establish the identity or intentions of buyers and sellers, or prove that a price move will continue or reverse. Simulated or unavailable volume cannot confirm an actual market event.

Things that trip beginners on a markets screen

• Assuming a large recent gain predicts the next price move; an observed change does not determine future returns or a suitable entry.
• Assuming a low nominal price means an asset is 'cheap' — price per unit says nothing about value.
• Treating any ETF as automatically low-risk: sector funds and concentrated funds still carry market and holding-specific risks.
• Ignoring market hours: equities gap overnight, crypto trades continuously, forex has session-driven liquidity.