Tariffs, geopolitics, AI and interest rates – this quartet of issues has been keeping global equity markets on their toes for months. Although trade policy tensions have eased somewhat, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the escalating situation in the Middle East have created new stress. The resulting oil price shock blew all monetary policy forecasts out of the water. Not least, the unbroken expansion and extension of artificial intelligence (AI) helped stock markets maintain a positive trend. The SMI is trading 6% above the level it was a year ago. On Wall Street the S&P 500 index, which is dominated by technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple and Alphabet, even managed to climb by just under a quarter over the same period. On the commodities markets, too, positive indicators outweigh, this asset class being driven by key representatives such as crude oil, copper and gold (see graph).<\/p>\n
A look back reveals that investors taking a long-term view have once again been rewarded for keeping a cool head. A counter-model to this “buy and hold” approach is trading. This is defined as the purchase and rapid sale of financial instruments in order to profit from the fluctuations of the particular asset. What may sound simple is in fact an art in itself. In addition to experience, the right timing, strict discipline and permanent monitoring of the positions, the range of instruments plays a decisive role. In this regard Leonteq took a huge step towards expansion a little over a year ago when the Zurich-based fintech joined the market in listed leverage products in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Leonteq started on the automated and ultramodern retail flow platform with around 2,500 leverage products, all of which were listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Twelve months later, the range comprises almost 21,000 such vehicles. In addition to the SIX, the issuer also uses the BX Swiss as a trading place. Leonteq has thus achieved a leading position in the Swiss market for leverage products in double-quick time. Traders can access the entire spectrum of this segment. Alongside mini-futures, these also includes warrants with knock-out and classic warrants. Quantity alone is not enough, of course. Thanks to infrastructure developed from scratch over a number of years, Leonteq can provide scalable technology that enables seamless marketing for large volumes. Every day, the team of experienced traders does everything in its power to offer customers the best possible conditions in the form of fair prices and narrow spreads.<\/p>\n
The final stage is still a long way off. Leonteq is continuing to expand the product range and is driving optimisation of the technical processes. Although the focus is on equity markets, traders can also build leveraged positions in the main commodities. There be any lack of opportunities to pursue short-term gains over the next few months either, because as well as the issues of tariffs, geopolitics, AI and interest rates mentioned above, the midterm elections in the USA are also likely to lend fuel to the fire. Ultimately, autumn will see nothing less than the power of president Donald Trump on the ballot – so the outcome of the midterms could have an impact well beyond Wall Street.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Source: LSEG, as at 18 May 2026<\/p>","adHoc":false,"headline":"Trading: in pursuit of short-term gains","imageThumbnail":"/contentAsset/resize-image/870ffbf9-1952-471b-8184-04ee84d062b4/fileAsset/w/770"}