Yesterday the trading range for the ES was 25 pts, for the NQ it was 52 pts. Suppose you traded one contract and were able to catch the whole range. ROI for the ES would have been 62.5% and for the NQ 69.3%. In my opinion the NQ is harder to trade, because it wiggles more than the ES, above that liquidity in the ES is higher. So why would anyone prefer to trade the NQ? Regards, Ditch
I don't even think God can capture the entire range low to high of the indicies...that is truly wishful thinking
You're right about the wiggles on the NQ. You can get shaken out pretty easily even if you're with the trend. There are a lot of short term countertrends with the NQ and at reversal points there usually is a period that will shake people out. The reason I have been trading the NQ is because 3 stocks make up 20% of the index (MSFT, CSCO, INTC). I can watch 3 stocks and the index pretty efficiently. To watch 20% of the ES would require many more stocks to follow. I haven't had an issue with liquidity either. I usually enter/exit on limit orders and get filled. I think I would trade the ES if I could develop a strategy with some leading indicators but so far I have not been able to do that. The other thing with the NQ is it typically goes up/down more percentage than ES so it provides more volatility if that's what you're looking for. Savage(Yoda)
Aren't you forgetting Microsoft? By the way, I always presumed that the futures led the stocks, but your results prove otherwise. How are you doing today so far? Ditch
Ditch, Futures only lead stocks to the degree that supply/demand will support. Lately, CSCO has been a better conformation to NQ moves than MSFT. I'm not trading today. No depth in the market the day befor a long holiday. Spent time with the family. Savage
Days when the NQ is weak and the ES is stronger , if I want to go long I will buy the ES. If I want to short I will go with the weaker NQ. Some days its the opposite. I think there is a definite advantage to trading both.