wrbtrader, In your experience, which is the most suitable trading instrument for retail traders? Thank you very much.
I think /ES is just the 'most well known' because it's a major index and is very liquid ... and "trading the S&P" just sounds awesome for newbies who want to feel like they're trading "with the big boys." *ducks* I don't see many ads/services that promote /YM or /CL trading as much as the /ES, either.....not really sure why that is beyond what I just speculated, though. That said, while I started off trading /ES back in '07 I've sinced moved over to pretty much the /TF exclusively, as I've found its dynamics more in-tune to my style of intraday trading -- especally once it got settled on the ICE when it changed from ER2 to TF and volumes normalised. And sure, I do a few /ES trades now and then, but my bread-and-butter system is /TF. [1] Also .... and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think because /TF is on ICE and the /ES, /YM, and /NQ are all on CME, there's less algo 'gaming' of the /TF because it's less convenient for a large firm to put up margin on two different exchanges to offset positions. [2] I think? [1] Also considering /CL but not had much time to really explore it in recent months. [2] Hopefully /TF remains in its current iteration and remains, in my view, a 'retail' trading vehicle.
you can get it 15 min delayed for free. There is a whole thread on how much ICE costs at ib, and if the fee is waived after generating commissions on it. apparently it is some kind of pissing contest between ICE and ib. 75 bucks a month is the full fee, if you can believe that some say they get it and trade it and never pay anything extra
a couple thoughts re TF vs ES some brokers charge a separate fee for ICE (for TF for example) TF doesn't have nearly the liquidity as ES does so if you're trading a sizable number of cars you might pay a few more ticks than you would if you were trading ES, CL
Thanks. I went to IB and it seems it is floor traded. I may nr wrong but I saw the figure of 75 bucks which is a bit high. I will try to finf if it is waived
The liquidity ES provides is second to none. Very rarely do you get any slippage (not to be confused with the spread) and because of that there are numerous scalpers large and small that make the market even deeper. You can scalp it, swing it and, for those with the deep pockets and high level technology arb it. I'm not suggesting it is a superior trading instrument to CL, 6E or TF (they have their place) but I am suggesting it deserves to be held in high regard by any trader that values the equation that encompasses liquidity and a good daily range.
The Dax future is the wildest contract Last year with the European debt crisis, I have seen three times in a row (3 consecutive days) a potential slippage of 50 points (100 ticks) per contract (2.500,00 Eur with Just one contract!!) 50 points gap driving a market news I have never seen before a thing like this Scary...........
Want wild? Want scary? Watch the Hang Seng during times of major financial crisis ... during major bad down days in '07 and '08, when compared to the Hang Seng, the DAX was in a persistent vegetative state.