US500 & NAS100 Index Execution During FOMC Releases

CFD index trading around a rate decision has one characteristic that makes it different from currency or metals: the move is fast, the direction is uncertain until the statement lands, and liquidity disappears for a few seconds during the worst of it.

What actually happens in the release window

The tick before the statement is calm. The tick after it is not — index CFD feeds reference multiple underlying venues, and each feed reprices independently. A broker aggregating several providers may show a wider price than a single-venue dealer at precisely the moment a position is most exposed.

Why static boundaries work better than dynamic ones here

A dynamic stop that moves with volatility will widen during the release itself, which is the point at which you least want a larger loss. A static boundary combined with reduced position size achieves the same protection without the perverse behaviour.

The relationship is straightforward: static boundary plus smaller size produces the same maximum exposure as dynamic boundary plus larger size, but the loss is capped at a known figure rather than an open-ended one.

Position sizing into a scheduled event

If a strategy must hold through a release, reduce size to the level where a full adverse move remains inside the account equity. The 12% boundary referenced above is a worked figure, not a universal constant — size it against your own equity and the index in question.

Broker differences worth checking

Compare realised spread at the release minute, not average spread across the month. Also confirm whether the broker widens the spread, halts execution, or applies a slippage policy during the event — those are different behaviours and they affect position sizing differently.