In US stock CFD trading, in addition to the profits and losses from the trade itself, there are several common fees. Below is a detailed explanation:
Spread
The spread refers to the difference between the bid price and the ask price in a Contract for Difference (CFD). Each time a trade is executed, the spread is essentially one of the transaction costs you pay.
Bid Price:
The bid price is the price at which you can sell the CFD contract at the market price.
Ask Price:
The ask price is the price at which you can buy the CFD contract at the market price.
The spread reflects market volatility and the fee structure of the trading platform, and it is an important cost to consider when opening a position.
Example:
Suppose the bid price of AAPL is $150.00, and the ask price is $149.90.
The spread is:
$150.00 - $149.90 = $0.10
When you buy 1 share of AAPL CFD, you will pay a spread cost of $0.10.
Overnight Interest
When you hold a position overnight, you may either receive or pay overnight interest, depending on your trade direction (long or short) and market interest rates. This is based on the cost of financing leveraged trades.
Example:
You hold a long position of 100 shares of AAPL, with the current stock price at $250 per share. Each overnight position will incur corresponding overnight interest.
Overnight Fee Calculation:
Interest rate/360 * contract size * position size * days * current price
-7.7/360 * 1 * 100 * 1 * 250 = $5.34
Therefore, for each day the position is held, you will need to pay approximately $5.34 in overnight interest.
Transaction Fees
The platform may charge either a fixed transaction fee or a commission based on the trade amount.
Example:
Suppose the platform charges a fixed transaction fee of $0.04 per share for stock CFD trading. When trading 1 share of AAPL, you will pay $0.02 in transaction fees when opening the position, and another $0.02 when closing the position (based on the MT5 mechanism, where half of the fee is charged for opening and the other half for closing).
Thus, for each contract, a total transaction fee of $0.04 will be charged.