Which is better to daytrade ZN or ZB and why? Looks like the volume on the ZN is almost 3x that of the ZB. Thanks in advance.
They're both good to trade. Don't be fooled by the volume. The 30's trade in full tick increments, the 10's are half ticks. As per most contracts, the best trading is done when fairly important economic news is released. Days like today, which are becoming far too often, you'll see the contracts languish in tight ranges. It takes alot more size to move these contracts than it used to, say 1.5 to 2.5 yrs ago. If the big boys aren't playing then we simply don't move much.
I find that one often leads the other, and given that they are so correlated, that was always a good play.
Two totally different ball games. 10yr trades enormous size and has LOTS of paper. You can very easily get run over by a 5000-7000 lot out of nowhere that takes out 2 or 3 bids/offers at once within a minute. That being said, when there is no paper in the 10yr you will run into a local that is the size of paper and will push it completely opposite of where every small local is trying to go. Obviously this is a contract that trades very tough with technicals because it is very flow based. On the other hand, if you like a smoother, trending, technical-based trade then I would go with the 30yr and trade at least half the size you would trade in the 10yr.