Quick question, I know 25k is minimum capital required to daytrade stocks. What is the minimum requirement for trading naz,s&p, futures, and minis? And what is the margin,? I know with stocks its usually 4-1. Thanks in advance.
This is entirely up to the individual firm (and the maintenance requirements of the exchanges involved). I assume you're asking as a retail customer, so I suggest that you make a few calls. Be sure to check with the sponsors of this board first (how's that Baron....brownie points!!)... LOL Don
It depends on your broker...I've seen margin as low as $500 per SP contract with 10:1 and as high as $3500 and 1:1. Minimum cash is usually at least $5000...
...just a suggestion from one po' boy to apparently another: IB is an excellent place to start. Round trip futures commission is $4.80, initial margin for one NQ is $1875, and you can trade with as little as $2K in the account, although I would recommend 2X that for starters. If you trade very carefully short term, especially in the opening hour, you can get a fast education cheap. Good luck!
some go as low as $500/contract margin e.g. advancedfutures.com i use IB as previously mentioned... cheapest commissions for low volume traders, very good software and overall reliable broker and fast. watch out with the leverage, if you're not careful you'll get cleaned real quickly... however I congratulate you for being smart to quit the stinking and sinking equities world and moving into futures... Cheers 50