how can futures be swing traded? if they have a margin maitence? for example the YM has a margin of 1250 and maintence of 1000, a difference of 250.00 or 50 ticks, the ym can move more than 50 ticks in a day, so if you entered a tade and the very next day the YM went against you 50 ticks you would be liquidated, and not be able to complete your swing trade. basically you don't have enough room to swing trade.
doug456, Most traders that hold futures overnight aren't undercapitalized in comparison to that position they are holding overnight. As Bango already mentioned. Therefore...most traders...regardless if they are retail or institutional... if they swing trade...you better not be doing it with an undercapitalized account. Also...depending upon whom your broker is...they may liquidate ALL or just enough contracts to still keep you in the position if it goes against you. Remember this...its not up to the broker to manage a trader's position if the position starts going against the trader when its undercapitalized... it's the trader's responsibility to know the worst case scenario or something close to it to know his/her risk exposure if the trade doesn't work out. Reason why I think most brokers just liquidate ALL to not bother with managing a trader's position. Also...I know a few institutional traders and they don't move in and out of the futures... They are holding overnight although they may be managing their position...adding or subtracting contracts from it during the trading day. NihabaAshi