Stocks are much easier because of the pace. You are able to stay aheadof the beat much more easily. The flip side of the coin is the money velocity. The minis run about 50 times more profitable. If I were making a recommendation to a beginner I would suggest all capital in stocks and at some point, move a minimum of 20,000 to an emini account to get started there.. About 6 months prior to moving capital I would go through a ramp up in papar trading to be sure you have it down.. At some point you have to cap it out for both and then let someone else manage your surpluses. In three years starting with anything, you should be able to trade full time and live comfortably. Doing that on stocks alone is the best way to begin.
Trade both...not necessary at the same time although some traders do or use the Eminis as a leading indicator for their stock trades... you'll find out very quickly which is easier or more profitable. Note: Just because something is easier...doesn't mean its more profitable. Once again...trade both and you'll have a better answer than any answer that's posted to you as a reply because for someone to tell you which to trade without knowing anything about you is a tad bit silly. NihabaAshi
i vote for the eminis. why? afterseveral months of watching every tick my brain accidently became programmed to recognize certain repetitive patterns that occur every day. that never happened when i traded momentum stocks just jumping around all over the place
For a new trader, he'll blow out quicker on the e-minis. On the other hand, as a new trader I'd rather learn watching the e-minis than wasting time with stocks and then switching to the minis and trying to learn it all over again. Also make sure to elect MTM until truly profitable.
You can do both at once: Single Stock Futures for more information: www.nqlx.com www.onechicago.com In fact, I do recommend Single Stock Futures as the best way to start out. After starting with Stock Futures, once you start to get a feel for it, you could try moving up to the E-minis. I recommend Stock Futures over stocks for several reasons: no daytrader rule limitations margin rates are better no uptick rule for selling short no interest on margin
How much capital should one start with when getting into trading the e-mini? I currently trade Nasdaq stocks, but would like to trade the e-mini as well.
Current margin requirements: http://www.cme.com/httpwrapper.cfm?...m&beginAfterRE=<body[^>]+>&endBeforeRE=</body Basically, for the e-minis, you need an initial $3,563 with a maintenance margin of $2,850. This actually varies brokerage to brokerage, but that's the least you must put down. If you have good stop discipline and have no problems cutting losses short, one could be successful at the e-minis. But it does require some advanced money management since a turn against you could easily wipe you out if you aren't willing to cut your losses. The leverage is a great feature, but it is a double edged sword.