I think a lot of traders a coming to the conclusion that DT stocks is not worth it anymore due to the decreased ranges. I am sure that is one of the reason people are migrating to the mini contracts. Has to do with the VIG. Read Neidehoffers discussion about it in his edu of specualtor book. Chaper 8 . Just compare the cost of 1 emini at $5 RT vs. SPY 800 shares @ penny per. Emini comm/min tick = 40% of min tick 800 SPY 200 % of min tick. o 1 contract. If you are using this as the ONLY criteria then you'd have to gravitate to the minis. Of course there are OO's ,sector plays u can't do with the minis' To each his own I guess.
16.50 pts. on Monday the 6th $330 I'll take what the market gives me. Today, 1-8-02 so far up over 10.0 pts. short since 13:51 @ 1048.50 Unfortunately, missed the top since I was typing on this damn board. -momo
Momo - I totally agree - I love the Mini's! For all the reasons to which you allude. As for strictly Daytrading Stocks - I think we're very close in estimating the current situation. Thanks for the reply!
How I make a living trading NASDAQ stocks ($120,000 BP). Pay close attention every afternoon and morning to see what stocks have news, looking for any material announcements which result in the stock opening up or down more than 5-10% the next morning. Sometimes you get lucky and have an entire sector to work with, such as the video game stocks before Christmas, storage on Monday and software yesterday. I will then watch these stocks for the next several days looking for breakouts or breakdowns out of tight ranges. The news itself is never important, only the reaction. The rest of the time I look for relative strength or weakness out of a list of about 75 stocks which I follow closely. I go home flat every night. The most important thing to remember is that you only need 4-5 good days a month to make a living, as long as you stay out of trouble the rest of the time.
That's great to hear - very encouraging news! - without being too prying (feel free not to reply) what kind of performance have you experienced over the past few years? I also would love to hear a little more about your trading - it's extremely refreshing to hear someone applying a DT strategy not totally dependant upon esoteric TA, rebates, or scalping for fractions of a penny!!
hey momo, i'm curious as to why you're putting on the same trade with the stock afterwards?? if i understand it correctly, you are taking identical positions in both instruments, always with the mini first, but at the same time you're indicating that trading the NQ is somehow superior to stocks (not that i disagree, but i'm not a futures trader) - could you be a bit more clear about why you're also doing the QQQ's?? thanks! -b
2001 $115,000 2002 $75,000 (Includes a disastrous Sept. Oct. when I tried my hand at futures, got way to happy with the leverage and lost 15,000 not to mention the opportunity cost of straying from my usual strategies) I am completely discretionary, I would not have a clue how to use MA, Fibonacci, Gann, or anything else I read about on this board). I was a broker during the boom years and was not able to do a lot a trading for myself, it was a great way to learn what not to do. I usually enter and exit my trades on a partial basis, adding to winners and cutting losers quick. My exits are based on feel. No real way to describe it, just something you pick up after watching a computer screen for 7 years. I do feel undercapitalized, still paying off some tax debts from a few years ago, so I have to sweep my profits instead of letting them grow.
Can't place a trade for less than 1 contract. I vary the position size in the Cubes from 1K for "my" typical position to a few hundred shares when trading for others. Other reasons are I can't trade Futures in the same account as my Equities as others can do. So, I work my Equity account along with the Futures at the same time., instead of letting the free capital sit there. Sorry for the confusion to the other trader that I mentioned 30K x 4 on the margin to. I was stating the 120k BUYING Power, rather than 30K Buying power. Wasn't sure if he miss stated or not. Didn't think you could PDT with only 30K of "Buying power" -momo
<1 emini at $5 RT vs. SPY 800 shares /. its one e mini NQ vs 800 QQQ but for spy its only 500 shares vs 1 e mini ES