NAS100 in 30 seconds
NAS100 is the CFD ticker for the Nasdaq 100 index, which tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is heavily weighted toward US technology stocks like Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla. Reconstituted annually in December by Nasdaq. Trades nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week as a CFD on LHFX.
What the Nasdaq 100 tracks
The Nasdaq 100 is an index of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, ranked by market capitalization. Financial-sector stocks (banks, insurers, brokerages) are excluded by methodology. That single exclusion is the reason the Nasdaq 100 looks different from every other major US benchmark.
The index is heavily concentrated in technology, communications services, and consumer discretionary names. Roughly 60 percent of the index is information technology by sector classification, and once you add the communications-services tech names like Alphabet and Meta, the effective tech exposure is closer to 70 percent. That tech tilt is what gives NAS100 its growth-stock character and its higher beta versus the broader US market.
The Nasdaq 100 is not the same thing as the Nasdaq stock exchange or the Nasdaq Composite. The exchange is a venue where thousands of companies are listed. The Composite is a broad index of every company listed on the exchange (around 3,000 names). The Nasdaq 100 is a curated top-100 subset that excludes financials.
Top NAS100 components
Eight names make up roughly 45 to 50 percent of the entire index. When you trade NAS100, you are mostly trading these companies. Approximate index weights below; exact numbers shift daily with price moves and quarterly with Nasdaq rebalancing.
| Ticker | Company | Approx weight |
|---|---|---|
| AAPL | Apple | ~9% |
| MSFT | Microsoft | ~8% |
| NVDA | Nvidia | ~7% |
| AMZN | Amazon | ~5% |
| META | Meta Platforms | ~5% |
| GOOGL | Alphabet (Google) | ~5% |
| TSLA | Tesla | ~3% |
| AVGO | Broadcom | ~4% |
These eight names alone account for almost half of the index by weight. A single mega-cap earnings beat or miss can move NAS100 1 to 2 percent in a single session, sometimes more in after-hours trading.
Sector breakdown
Information technology is the largest sector at roughly 60 percent of the index. Communications services (Alphabet, Meta, Netflix) and consumer discretionary (Amazon, Tesla, Booking) are the next two. Health care, industrials, and consumer staples make up the rest. Energy, financials, real estate, materials, and utilities have minimal or zero exposure compared with the S&P 500.
Modified market-cap weighting
The Nasdaq 100 uses a modified market-capitalization weighting. The default approach is straightforward: each company's weight equals its market cap divided by the sum of all 100 market caps. The largest company gets the largest weight, and so on.
The modification is a cap-and-rebalance rule. If a single stock would otherwise dominate the index above a threshold, Nasdaq reduces its weight at the next quarterly rebalance and redistributes the difference to other constituents. This rule kicks in during periods when one or two mega-caps grow much faster than the rest of the index, which has happened repeatedly with Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia over the past decade.
Why this matters: The cap rule means NAS100 cannot become a single-stock proxy. Even if Nvidia or Apple doubles in a year, its index weight is capped. The diversification is engineered into the methodology, not assumed from the constituent list.
Annual reconstitution
Nasdaq rebalances the index annually in December. The list of eligible companies is reviewed, additions and deletions are announced in mid-December, and the new composition takes effect at the open on the third Friday of December.
Companies are added when they grow into the top 100 by market cap. They are deleted when they drop out of the top range, when they change sector classification to financials, when they delist from Nasdaq, or when they are acquired. Recent years have seen additions like Palantir, AppLovin, and CrowdStrike, and deletions including Atlassian and Moderna as their market caps moved.
Reconstitution week creates short-term order flow as passive ETFs that track the index (the largest being QQQ) rebalance their holdings. Added stocks typically see buying pressure leading into the effective date; deleted stocks see selling. Traders watch the announcement window for follow-through moves in the days before and after.
Trading sessions
The underlying Nasdaq cash market is open during US equity hours. The NAS100 CFD on MT5 extends well beyond that, so you can trade the index almost continuously from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon ET.
Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET. This is when constituent stocks themselves trade on Nasdaq.
Sunday 5:00 PM ET to Friday 5:00 PM ET, with a brief daily close. Pricing extends through Asian and European sessions when the cash market is shut.
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM ET and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET. Spreads are tightest and volume highest during these windows. FOMC days and US CPI release mornings produce the largest intraday ranges.
Volatility outside US cash hours is real but thinner. Overnight moves on earnings or geopolitical news can produce gaps when the cash market reopens at 9:30 AM ET. If you hold NAS100 overnight, size accordingly.
What drives NAS100 price
NAS100 reacts to a specific set of catalysts more than other US indices. Knowing what they are makes the index easier to read.
Federal Reserve policy and interest rates
Growth stocks are rate-sensitive. Their valuation depends on cash flows expected years into the future, and higher rates discount those future cash flows more aggressively. When the Fed signals tightening or hawkish surprises hit, NAS100 typically falls more than the S&P 500. Dovish surprises and rate-cut expectations have the opposite effect. FOMC meeting days, dot-plot revisions, and Powell press conferences are the most reliable scheduled volatility events for the index.
Mega-cap earnings
Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla, and Broadcom report quarterly earnings on staggered dates. A single beat or miss from any of them can move NAS100 1 to 2 percent on the day, more in after-hours. Nvidia earnings in particular have produced 3 to 5 percent overnight gaps on NAS100 multiple times in 2024 and 2025 because of its 7 percent index weight and its central role in the AI capex story.
AI capex cycle
Capital spending on AI infrastructure (data centers, GPUs, networking, power) is the single largest growth narrative for the top NAS100 constituents. Nvidia sells the chips, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta buy them in volume for their cloud and internal AI workloads. Any data point on AI spending pace (hyperscaler capex guidance, GPU lead times, new model launches) moves the whole index, not just the company involved.
Semiconductor demand
Beyond Nvidia, the index includes Broadcom, AMD, Intel, Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA, ASML (through ADR), Marvell, and several smaller names. Semiconductor cycle data (Philadelphia Semiconductor Index moves, industry shipment data, foundry capacity reports) drives sympathy moves across the sector and pulls NAS100 with it.
US dollar strength
Many NAS100 constituents earn 40 to 60 percent of revenue outside the United States. A stronger dollar reduces the dollar value of those foreign earnings. The relationship is less direct than for the UK or German indices, but persistent dollar strength is a quiet headwind for NAS100 over multi-quarter horizons.
US risk sentiment
NAS100 is a risk-on barometer. When global risk appetite rises (credit spreads tightening, VIX falling, emerging markets rallying), NAS100 typically leads US indices higher. When risk turns off, NAS100 falls faster than US30 or US500 because of its growth-stock concentration. Geopolitical events, banking stress, and credit-market disruption all transmit into the index through this channel.
NAS100 vs US30 vs US500
All three are US equity indices. They share a lot of overlap in their largest constituents, but the methodology and sector mix make them behave differently in practice.
| Index | What it tracks | Weighting method |
|---|---|---|
| NAS100 | 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq listings | Modified market-cap (with cap rule) |
| US30 | 30 large US blue-chip companies | Price-weighted |
| US500 | 500 largest US-listed companies, all sectors | Market-cap weighted |
NAS100 leans growth and tech. US30 leans value and industrial because the Dow excludes most pure-tech names and uses price weighting (a $400 stock has more index influence than a $100 stock regardless of market cap). US500 is the broadest market benchmark and sits in between the two on sector mix and volatility.
Traders pick between them by exposure. If you want a leveraged read on US tech, AI, and growth, NAS100 is the cleanest expression. If you want broad US market beta with diversified sectors including financials and energy, US500 fits. If you want defensive blue-chip exposure with less tech sensitivity, US30 is the relevant index. Many traders hold positions in two or all three at different times depending on the macro setup.
Trading NAS100 at LHFX
NAS100 is available as a CFD on every LHFX account through MetaTrader 5. You trade the index level directly rather than buying individual stocks. You can go long or short with the same conditions on either side.
Up to 1:200 on NAS100. Most experienced traders run effective leverage in the 1:10 to 1:20 range given the daily volatility.
$3 per side, $6 round-trip per standard lot. Charged on entry and exit, the same rate as forex majors.
MetaTrader 5. LHFX is a direct MetaQuotes licensee, so MT5 is the only platform; charting, order management, and Expert Advisors all run inside MT5.
STP/ECN. Orders are routed to liquidity providers without a dealing desk, so there is no broker conflict of interest on directional positions.
Sunday 5:00 PM ET to Friday 5:00 PM ET with a short daily close. Available almost continuously through the trading week.
Full contract specs (tick size, pip value, swap rates, margin requirements) are listed on the NAS100 instrument page. Pip value depends on the underlying index level and your lot size; the MT5 spec sheet shows the exact figure live.
All commission and spread details are on the spreads and fees page , and leverage tiers by instrument are on the leverage page.
Risks of trading NAS100
NAS100 is one of the highest-volatility instruments on the platform after crypto. Understand the specific risks before sizing positions.
Higher daily volatility than US30 and US500
Daily ranges on NAS100 are typically 1 to 2 percent in normal markets and 3 to 5 percent on FOMC, CPI, or major earnings days. The same dollar position takes larger swings on NAS100 than on the Dow or S&P 500, so position sizing has to account for this.
Tech-concentration risk
Roughly 60 percent of the index is information technology. A sector-wide tech correction (rate-driven sell-off, AI capex disappointment, regulatory action against big tech) hits NAS100 disproportionately. Sector rotation away from growth and into value or defensives is a recurring headwind.
Mega-cap idiosyncratic risk
Eight stocks make up nearly half the index. An earnings miss, accounting issue, or company-specific event at Nvidia, Apple, or Microsoft can move the whole index 1 to 2 percent in a single session. You are not diversified away from single-name risk the way the constituent count might suggest.
Leverage amplifies losses
Using high leverage on NAS100 means small percent moves translate into large account moves. At 1:200, a 0.5 percent adverse move on the index costs the full margin on your position. NAS100 routinely covers 0.5 percent intraday, so a 1:200 position into a CPI release or FOMC announcement is a full-margin risk.
Overnight and weekend gaps
When mega-cap names report earnings after the US close, NAS100 can gap several percent at the next session's open. Weekend news (geopolitical events, central bank announcements outside US hours) can produce Sunday-night gaps. Stops do not guarantee fills at the stop price during a gap; you may fill at the next available price.
Risk disclosure: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Index CFDs like NAS100 carry higher volatility than forex majors. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.