The future of day trading for a living is dead. Thanks you Federal Reserve, HFT and fiscally irresponsible government legislation. 2013 has been no picnic. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-09/us-equity-trading-volume-hits-fresh-15-year-low And it would look like WHAT without HFTs accounting for ~60% of the volume? You wonder why the exchanges don't want anyone to even TOUCH the HFT shops? Without them the exchanges are out of business. I'll add that it's easier to manipulate the market when volumes are low.
This is not the case according to data I have, You should not rely on the kind of sources you quoted, they are totally unreliable. You must take into account dark pools and the fact that part of the volume has moved to the technology sector. According to my data we are at 2006 levels after a peak during 2008 for obvious reasons. This is the best environment foe trading in many years, both intraday and swing. Needless to say that for trend-followers there has been a 4-year trend. Whoever cannot make money trading this market should not blame HFT but only his inability to compete and should find another activity to spend his time and money. Most of the funds I work with and traders I know have made very good money in the last 3 years. True that HFT has made intraday trading harder but only losers do not understand that HFT is more predictable and can be dealt with much more easily than the army of specialists that was in its place before. The mode of operation of HFT is simple in principle and anyone who is familiar with it can profit at the expense of those traders who fear it. HFT is just a liquidity provision scheme that is natural to profit from its operation. It is much better than the old scheme of cunning specialists.
You went full retard. Saying present volume is like 2006 = saying your wife is just as hot as Rosie O'donell. 2006 was hands down the deadest vol, worst trading year in its entire decade. I can think of and name at least ten years of the past thirteen that were way better than 2013 for short-term trading. Real volume in the futures markets and stock markets available to individual traders is a fraction of past years. Intraday ranges and price swings are also fractional. Your data must be written on used toilet paper from a truckstop restroom left uncleaned for three days. And nights.
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tell me something i don't know..i've noticed this and posted here long time ago.there is many many reasons for it. 'they' spend decade+ carefully squeezing out almost every single group of market participants,starting with idiotic PDT rule. imo-with the goal to control the markets and like i said not so long ago-for whoever is left trying to make a living off it-prepare for a next level-they will make this market UNTRADABLE. last couple days are perfect examples. no direction,small ranges\moves. not sure why Mr goodgoing believe that this is the best environment. maybe for option writers or something ..i don't know..i would believe,if he can show us some proof of that,but honestly-I'm sitting,doing nothing for last 3 weeks because i'm not sure,if it worth it. i'm talking about my game,that use feed me for decade or so. profits are shrinking and shrinking fast. no volatility,no ranges,low volume,impossible to get decent size fill on stocks. many many things. it's been bad for a long time,but it's getting worse and worse every single day. i'm not says that it's impossible to make the money off it, i'm saying-it's pretty damn hard now.
Liquidity is worse in index futures,but if you are sized right then it should work for you. ,any more intraday reversals. ES used to never move more than 7 ponts pre 08. Now 20 points all the time. But it takes more patience, more technical view of markets. Trading single equities I think is awful be cause liquidity stinks
I don't trade futures but I would think traders there want volatility so if ES now moves 20 pts vs 7 in 2008, would that not be better ?