Does anyone use the DJ or NASD futures for intraday prediction of the movement of these markets? If so, how useful can they be? I'm wondering if they would be worth the cost to use.
Yes. RE: Futures - I watch the DOW and NAZ futures constantly, as well as the TRIN and the index for both. I also watch the SOX and the S&P futures. It's almost as though they each get a vote and it has to be an overwhelming majority for me to enter a trade. Then I still use the MACD and bollinger bands to keep me from entering at a reversal or from chasing an entry beyond reason. It sounds worse than it is. I typically only watch about 5-8 stocks in addition to the OEX. Today it was CIEN, BRCM, JNPR, ITWO, HGSI, AMCC, MSFT, CSCO, and OEX. I include/remove JDSU and SDLI, depending on what's happening. They are the most volatile (at the top of the qcharts most volatile 'hot list'). I almost never trade CSCO or MSFT, but they end up being a 'mini' index in that if I see big movement with them, it won't be long until the rest of what I watching will follow. Hope this helps.
Gene I watch, the TICK, TRIN, and the S&P Futures. I don't watch the Nasdaq or Dow Futures. The reason being the S&P's are mainly used by professionals to hedge or trade with a lot more volume. The trading pits for Nasdaq or Dow futures are very small in comparison. I've noticed if the market is going to move it will do so in the S&P's usually first. I also have a squawk box for the S&P pit which is about 3 seconds faster than my quotes. Robert Tharp
Lind-Waldock has a free squawk-box for the s&p pits. I don't know if it is "real-time" or not.. http://www.lind-waldock.com/tradertools/bin/mid-new.cgi I have only used it for amusement purposes. I have a hard time understanding what is going on. It really sounds like a livestock auction. (gibberish to my untrained ear, hehe) Some of those guys are easier to understand than others though. Are there other sites that have a squawk-box feature?
Gene, If you want to try the futures without paying the exchange fees you can try the e-mini futures quotes for the S&P 500 and Naz. If you are using qcharts the symbols are es01h for the S&P or nq01h for the Naz. You can also enter these symbols in the LiveCharts applet at the quote.com website (its free). Other data providers may use different symbols. The mini quotes are virtually the same as the full contract quotes due to arbitrage between them. However, if you want the full contract quotes the exchange fee for the CME is only $10/month now. Kirk
squwak box This takes awhile to get used to. I was on the floor of the CBOT so I understand what they are saying pretty well. The key is the noise level in the background. You'll know when there is some serious volume going on. If you see the market start to rally heavily but it's quite on that box the move might not really have a lot of power and should be faded. If on the other hand it is taking off with noise it might prove useful to jump on board. I tend to trade stocks that are heavily related to the S&P so if the Futures are leading I expect my stocks to follow. The Lind Waldock squwak box is about the same time as my quotes. I get a 2-3 second delay by using the internet to hear it from them. My squwak box is a direct phone connection relayed into my speakers. It ISN"T free at all. It costs over $900 per month but I have an extra 2 to 3 seconds of time, or should I say warning. With daytrading that can be a huge lifesaver. This is an edge to me. It might sound expensive, but trust me, It is heavily worth the cost. My firm I trade with also has a squwak box but it goes through the internet again so there is a delay of about 1.5 seconds. Robert Tharp
In Active Trader (Volume 2, No. 1 -- January/February), there's a good article on trading TRIN, TICK and S&P Futures as it pertains to program trading. As of Sunday, January 21st, this link is good: http://www.activetradermag.com/coverstory.htm Worth a read. MGB
The squwak box on Lind Waldock is over 45 seconds delayed!! My computer clock is the same as the NYSE in SYNC. On the floor every 15 minutes a siren will blow saying 15 minutes have passed. It blew and I quickly looked at my clock in the lower hand corner (it's modified to show seconds) and it was 11:15 and 45 seconds. Yikes, it makes the squwak box on the website Lind Waldock useless. LOS.net is another site that offers a squwak box Robert Tharp
You know something, if NYSE ever moves to a 100% electronic network then the Squawk Box will be useless. Besides, this Squawk Box is useless to me since I'm deaf anyway. However, I do appreciate the advantage you have on hearing the "roar" during your trading day. MGB