bonkers

Spreadbetting companies based in the UK offer bets on certain US stocks (major companies), its quite limited though, also the US exchanges are covered as of course is forex. There is no stamp duty when spreadbetting, only when buying UK shares. As you are aware, there is no tax on spreadbetting profits, but also, you can not offset any losses against capital gains etc.. Best to open a demo account with a couple of spreadbetting companies, try their platforms / charting and trade in demo mode for quite a while, learn when to buy and sell in demo mode and not with your own money. I guarantee you will be cleaned out if you learn the hard way. Have a look at Meta Trader, you can get a time unlimited demo account through Admiral Markets (not UK based).