Personally I think that odds are that you would blow up a futures account with that little capital. There are ways to do it successfully but they are long-shots for the average person so I am not going to suggest it. How about forex instead? Or, why not open an India-domiciled account for now and trade U.S. and Indian stocks in it? Is that possible? PDT should not apply. You can use Interactive Brokers India. I am not sure but I sort of gather it is possible for you. Also you can probably trade CFD's in it. Those are not allowed by U.S. brokers for a U.S. permanent resident, which you are not at the present time (L1 or L2 is a temporary visa - you are still a citizen and permanent resident of India at this time). It is a little complicated because if you stay here most of the time, you may nevertheless be deemed a U.S. resident for tax purposes. The point in trading initially is to learn how to trade, not to build capital. Over later years you will build capital through salaries and if you learn how to trade by then, you will then be able to grow it that way.
The type of questions you're asking...I highly recommend you wait at least a year or so prior to taking your very first trade with real money. Simply, spend a year or so learning everything you can about futures, back testing, simulator, setting up a trading plan, setting up a proper trading environment and so on. Doing such takes a minimum of one year for most newbies.
but in many cases you would be better off trading from your motherland, than US..i wish i can file and pay small flat tax in russia.
Comintel, Thanks for the concern, I know under-capitalized traders blow up, and over leveraged also blow up. I have done some futures trading and am comfortable with it. Just that now I am exploring a new market, will be difficult of course. Nevertheless would like to start checking the charts and check if my systems do make sense here and can be used. I am not comfortable with day-trading, so Prop groups with no overnight holding are out of question. Also Forex which usually involves high leverage is also not my piece of cake. I can try to start with Long only stocks may be. But need to see the charts and some backtesting before I start. So far I was wondering whether I can do it here or not, now I know I can so will start doing the ground work. Yes, I think I will be talking to Interactive Brokers soon. Indian Markets are too narrow and correlated. So I thought to try this wide market which the US offers. Many thanks.
Wrbtrader, I am loving it, Elite Trader is a place where people are showing genuine concern for a fellow newbie. Feels so good. Yes, am moving as you are suggesting, but since I have already traded in the past so may be this setting up etc will take about 2-3 months for me. Also, will be able to add to my capital meanwhile. Can you suggest a good simulator for commodities futures. Thanks
Bob111, Yes, true. But I traded stock futures in India, and they all seem to be correlated, Never tried commodities there. So, Its just about trying another markets. Thanks.
Mohai, Open a paper trading account with openecry.com. You'll be up and running immediately with real time data. If you do not fund an account after the trial period you an continue using their platform for a modest fee (Just the cost of price feed) Should allow you to get a good taste of the markets here.