Exness markets: South Africans’ access to global trading

Exness is a globally recognized retail trading broker authorized by the South African FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority). This authorization allows you to trade on Exness' platforms legally and safely within South Africa. It also allows you to open trading accounts denominated in rands (ZAR), meaning you can deposit and trade global markets without worrying about currency conversion fees.

The range of Exness markets is huge; everything from forex and indices to stocks, commodities, and crypto is on offer. In this article, we’ll walk you through the main trading instruments on Exness and what you can trade with us.

What can I trade on Exness?

Exness offers trading across five main market categories.:

• Forex (currency pairs): Major, minor, and even exotic pairs (including those with ZAR).
• Stocks: Shares in big international companies.
• Indices (stock indices): Global market indices (like US, UK, Asian markets).
• Commodities (metals and Energies): Precious metals and oil/gas products.
• Cryptocurrencies: Digital currencies.

Each of these is traded as a CFD (Contract for Difference), meaning you don’t have to own the underlying asset, but you can still speculate on its price movements. Exness offers stable pricing and low (often swap-free) trading costs on all these markets.

Forex markets on Exness

Forex (foreign exchange) is the world’s biggest market, and Exness offers 24/5 trading across major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. Here you’ll find popular CFD pairs like EURUSD (euro vs US dollar), GBPUSD (British pound vs US dollar), USDJPY (US dollar vs Japanese yen), and many others. Exness also offers some exotic pairs, including those matched against the South African rand, like USDZAR and EURZAR. These pairs allow local traders to speculate on the rand’s strength against major currencies. Exness also offers forex traders flexible leverage of up to 1:2000, depending on the account type, along with very low spreads. Check out the full forex listing here.

Stocks available on Exness

Exness offers a selection of popular international stock CFDs from major global markets, letting you trade big companies without actually buying shares.  For example, you can trade big names from the US, UK, EU, and other exchanges, including Alphabet (Google), Boeing, McDonald’s, Nike, and many more. Well-known tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) are also available and very popular. Here’s a full list of stocks available to trade on Exness.

For Standard account users, Exness offers commission-free trading with tight spreads and low minimum order sizes. Spreads remain stable even during major news events, and execution stays fast across MT4, MT5, web, and mobile platforms, all powered by proprietary technology.

Indices you can trade

The indices (stock market index offerings) available on Exness markets let you trade on the performance of aggregated markets. As an Exness trader, you'll have major global indices such as the US30 (Dow Jones 30), USTEC (Nasdaq 100), US500 (S&P 500), and many more—all at your fingertips.

Other indices include UK100 (FTSE 100), DE30 (Germany’s DAX), JP225 (Japan’s Nikkei), HK50 (Hang Seng), and more. Trading indices is a great way to  get a feel for broad market moves without picking individual stocks. See more about available Exness indices.

Commodities (Precious metals & energies)

Commodities refer to precious metals and energy products, and they’re some of the most popular trading instruments on Exness. The platform offers a range of highly traded commodity CFDs, giving you easy access to speculate on price movements. Major examples include:

• Gold (XAUUSD):  The world’s favorite metal. 1 lot usually equals 100 troy ounces of gold.
• Silver (XAGUSD) and Platinum (XPTUSD): considered haven assets during political uncertainty
• Crude Oil (USOIL, UKOIL): US and UK benchmarks for oil.
• Natural Gas (XNGUSD): Energy products.

Visit the Exness commodities page to see the most popular traded commodities. 

Cryptocurrencies on Exness

Exness offers CFDs for the leading digital currencies, letting you trade popular pairs like BTCUSD (bitcoin) and ETHUSD (ethereum). You can find more details on the Exness crypto page, but the top pairs are:

• Example crypto: Bitcoin (BTC/USD): The largest cryptocurrency.
• Example crypto: Ethereum (ETH/USD): The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, meaning big opportunities often come with big risks. On the plus side, Exness allows you to start with very small lot sizes. You also get the added advantage of trading crypto around the clock on all Exness platforms, as crypto markets never sleep.

Note: If you’re a beginner, tread carefully. When trading crypto, it’s wise to start with a demo account or with very small capital amounts.

Getting started and tips for beginners

Trading the available Exness markets is straightforward, but here are a few tips for traders in South Africa.

Choose a ZAR account

When opening your Exness account, select the South African rand as your account currency. This way, your deposits go straight in without conversion delays. It makes budgeting easier and avoids extra forex fees.

The FSCA regulation

Exness (SC) Ltd is authorised by South Africa’s FSCA as an OTC derivatives provider. This means your trading is under local regulation and standards. Knowing the broker is regulated gives you extra peace of mind.

Diversify your learning

Try a mix of instruments to see what you like. For example, start with a forex pair (like EURUSD), then maybe try a stock CFD or an index like US30. Exness’ platforms let you switch markets easily. Always check the contract specs for reference.

Use demo accounts

First, practice with a free Exness demo trading account. Exness offers demo trading with virtual money, making it a great way to get comfortable with all Exness’ platforms and the various markets without any real risk. Once you feel ready, you can move your strategy to a live ZAR account.

One last thing… trading is a journey. Be patient, keep learning, and don’t try to get rich overnight. Starting small and trading only what you understand will help you grow into an intermediate (and eventually advanced) trader with confidence.

This is not investment advice. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Your capital is at risk, please trade responsibly.

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Author:

Paul Reid

Paul Reid is a financial journalist dedicated to uncovering hidden fundamental connections that can give traders an advantage. Focusing primarily on the stock market, Paul's instincts for identifying major company shifts is well established from following the financial markets for over a decade.