If I had to pick just one, probably would choose the NQ. But, as Mark said, you need to see what fits your trading style. Maybe the EC (Euro FX) is actually best for you. Just have to look at all of them and narrow it down from there. Good luck!
They take turns leading/following being the best performer, that's why you're getting mixed reviews. For pure volatility/points the ER2 beats all. NQ has nice range and will tend to lead the pack when the getting is good. ES is neither too hot nor too cold, but sits smack dab in the middle. YM has the slowest (read, steadiest) movement when price is analyzed on a $value for $value basis against its cousin the ES, and it also has a sweet spread when compared with the others (especially ES), which is why a lot of traders (like myself) flock to it. However you slice it, it's going to take a lot of work to get up to speed on any of the indices ... good luck. JJ
Yep...that's another option of the CME contracts. In fact, even though I don't like to trade EC, if ER2 becomes like ES or NQ... I'll be forced to trade EuroFX EC because its volatility level is suitable for my trading style. Mark
Thanks to everyone for your input - the "Index" forum has serious people in it with good insight, that's why I posted there. If anyone else has anything more to add, keep it comin'.......any and all comments are valued!
You'll probably get many traders recommending you the ER2. Traders mostly are attracted to the currently most volatile trading instruments. Equally, on this site you'll find lots of negative remarks about trading the ES. However, just for another point of view. I personally prefer trading the ES. I find the ER2 too much of a gunslingers market for me. Too fast for me. You can make more money, but you can also lose more. For example, there are far more and larger WRBs on the ER2 compared to the ES and a similar move will be worth more in the ER2. Much depends on your personality and trading style. I prefer slightly more slower and more methodical markets. When I first started day trading, I tried out all the mini markets. Dow, Naz, ER2, FX and ES. I would suggest you do the same, try them and see what suits you best. After about a month or so I decided to stick with the ES. I also think that you'd probably have to trade each market slightly differently. They definitely don't trade the same way. Good luck.
I traded ym for a year and then switched to ES. YM has more whipsaws in it that can take your stop out due to less liquidity. YM offers more entry and exit points over the same $ range. Here is a good place to start for YM. Keep in mind it is a good idea to have an understanding of both as you may have to hedge one day if you are trading and one of the exchanges crashes intraday. http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1180+17719,00.html To this day I still run my ES charts exactly as posted in this article. http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1560+17731,00.html
on the nyse floor, that method's called Morning Breeze...very nice strategy to go all in with, and look for a point on ER2.
Good points. I started trading the Er2, and it didn't fit my laid back personality AT ALL so I wasn't doing well with it. I have since switched to YM, which has been a gift as it's a much slower moving contract, and that completely fits who I am and makes trading much more comfortable.
YM and ES have almost the exact same volatility. since 10 ym points = 1 ES points (on a dollar per dollar basis), all you have to do is compare average true range ER2 is more volatile many traders prefer a more volatile trader. i don't. not for index futures. that's something to keep in mind. YM has the best spread of ANY index future. that is incredibly important. the shorter your time frame, the more important it becomes. YM has a spread that is more than TWICE as good as the ES. the "big" pit traded S&P has a comparable spread to YM, but the ES has a ridiculous spread for scalping. if you want a volatile contract, i really recommend the Er2. i don't trade it, but it has bigger swings. YM and ES are also pure supply/demand proxies. when big institutions want to buy stocks qua stocks, they buy the S&P and the dow. the er2 is not a pure supply/demand proxy. keep that in mind. the ES and YM are much more highly correlated than any of the other two indexes. that can give u an edge if you watch both, but trade the YM also, the YM is price weighted. the ES is cap weighted. imo, based on my trading style, i find price weighted indexes move in more predictable ways. i have absolutely no idea why. the primary reason, apart from spread, why i trade YM is that *my* setups work much better (statistically and n>1000) on YM than any other instrument. keep in mind that the ES is infected by hypercaffeinated arcade traders that chop it up.