Does anyone "spread" daytrade the ES vs. NQ or YM vs. NQ etc.?

Discussion in 'Index Futures' started by increasenow, Jul 11, 2008.

  1. wow, this is a very old thread revived

    I fooled around with that es vs ym

    it is a great place for beginners to start

    you can put it on for peanuts

    at 1:1 it gives you a micro ES

    which with 10k in an account is what most beginners should be trading

    don't see the point in daytrading it, since the beauty is you have some black swan protection

    many of us conservative investors have eliminated our nq (QQQ) XLK nasdaq stocks, so the es vs nq is an interesting spread.

    There's going to be some averaging down involved.

    And that is where it can get you if you are not thoughtful about the whole process from beginning to end.
     
    #11     Jan 5, 2013
  2. bathrobe

    bathrobe

    The proper ratio of ES to NQ is not 1:2, as per the CME when I was trading it is was 1 ES : 1.27 NQ, this takes in to account more than the point value.
     
    #12     Jan 5, 2013
  3. querry

    querry

    That's where it gets tricky for me. I don't know how to trade 1.27 contracts. Usually I buy them in whole numbers. How can I get more info on this?
     
    #13     Jan 5, 2013
  4. yeah, that's where it gets tricky

    if you are trying to put it on dollar neutral it can get really crazy

    like when I was trading es vs ym, they had these internet sites run by college professors

    it went up to something like 14 ym vs 11 es

    generally speaking, most small retail traders are going to accept the small directional micro es, and trade accordingly

    you have to take into account dividends and time
     
    #14     Jan 5, 2013
  5. bathrobe

    bathrobe

    I was trading 4ES Es to 5 nq. Without member rates 1 spread position is really expensive since it was 9 contracts.
     
    #15     Jan 5, 2013
  6. you sure about that? The CME has it listed on their site. It is like at least an 85% discount.

    No way 4 es to 5 nq you should be charged for 9 contracts

    sounds like the problem there was with your broker

    exchange minimum margin
     
    #16     Jan 5, 2013
  7. bathrobe

    bathrobe

    Im sorry, I should have clarified I meant commissions.
     
    #17     Jan 5, 2013
  8. yeah, no kidding, commissions and spreads can really add up
     
    #18     Jan 5, 2013
  9. querry

    querry

    Do you happen to know the ratio for ES to YM?
     
    #19     Jan 8, 2013
  10. well, as it stands now, were at about 70k for an es and 66k for a ym.

    If you really want to get dollar neutral, what would that be? About 7 ym to 6 es

    you get a big discount on margin at just 1 to 1

    whatever you do beyond that is up to you

    just remember, you always have a micro es on
     
    #20     Jan 8, 2013