My data provider, QQL, does not have the e-minis. It does have QQQ and COMP. I have been watching COMP, how much of a difference would I see if I start using NQ? Does NQ lead COMP noticably? What time increment are we talking here: miliseconds? 1 second? 5 seconds?.... thanks in advance
Think of it this way... First the S&P futures pit moves. Then the stocks react. Then the comp is recalculated from the values of those stocks. I feel you cannot trade without access to the futures. (You can get the S&P futures free at www.quote.com)
I get the NQ real time from www.quote.com but the sp's have a 10 min delay. What symbol are you using? Thanks ~EC
Dustin, thanks for responding... i understand the sequence of events, what i don't know is the actual amount of time involved for that sequence to play out any opinion on how much, approximately, NQ leads COMP?
I agree completely with Dustin ----- in most cases, NQ leads the COMPQ by up to a full minute, as it takes that long to calculate the new value of COMPQ based on what the individual stocks in it are doing. The futures ----- NQ and ES ----are amazingly accurate leading indicators of where the indexes are going, and in day trading, you can't afford to surrender the advantage of the 10-60 seconds lead time the futures give you.
Please keep in mind that NQ are futures on the NDX (Naz 100). COMP is the whole Naz index. While they ususally trade fairly well together, it is not exact. In fact there are times when the NDX is down, but the COMP may be up.
now we're gettin' somewhere! i did not realize that the comp lagged by even 1 second, let alone up to 60 seconds!!! yes, i should not be trading without watching the futures - thanks all...
Crazy ---- COMP does update every 60 seconds, but the futures are virtually instantaneous, so there can be a lag of up to 60 seconds between NQ and $COMPQ. Furthermore, futures lead even beyond the immediate updating of $COMPQ, often foreshadowing larger moves up or down still to come.