Traded MNQ for the first time. Made a total net $100, which is a rounding error for me. But more importantly, I'm using it to practice trade without the larger P&L swings of the full contract. I wanted to practice holding onto winners longer. And I was able to hold for 30 NQ points! For the full contract I would have gotten out way earlier seeing the big P&L swings. Neverthless, I realized index futures move too fast. The reversals can be nasty. So it's still good to practice getting at local minima/local maxima even though you know the trend will continue. Then re-short or re-long at the pullbacks or resistance. Sitting through that noise is difficult even on MNQ. It's a lot easier to sit through the publlbacks MNQ.
Yep. You can avoid a lot of the stop outs (that take hard dollars out of your capital) with the NQ by using MNQ with minimal contracts and a very wide stop. Treat it like a retail inventory system that you are buying some when cheaper and selling some when more expensive. Do this with scaling. An oversimplification for sure but that's what works best for me for a timeframe longer than 1 day. And no, I can't quantify that but then again, I am aware that using indicators is no more effective than using a simple bar pricing chart and I have 20 years of experience with the indexes. Unless you have several million to work with, there is too much risk in say, scaling into 5 NQ's. That's 750K of market exposure, something you don't want in a disaster scenario (something that humans are certainly capable of.)
Nearly 1.3M Micro E-mini Futures Traded Since Launch S&P 500│Nasdaq-100 │Dow Jones Industrial Average │Russell 2000 In the first three days of trading, Micro E-mini futures volume reached nearly 1.3M total contracts across the four indices. Traders worldwide are taking advantage of new Micro E-mini futures to manage portfolio risk and express views on market direction. Unprecedented volumes in first three days Micro E-minis broke through the 500K daily volume threshold on day three, after trading more than 487K contracts on Tuesday and 310K contracts on Monday, for the most successful new product launch in CME Group’s history. Strong global participation Over 95,000 contracts traded before the U.S. cash market open on day three, continuing a trend of robust trading in Asian and European trading hours. Significant trading in all four index products A breakdown of Micro E-mini futures volume in the first three days: 660K+ in S&P 500 (MES), 425K+ in Nasdaq-100 (MNQ), 140K+ in Dow (MYM), and 68K+ in Russell 2000 (M2K). Source: Bloomberg and CME Group. All data as of U.S. cash market close on May 8. View Product Details Watch Playback Missed the May 2 webinar? The replay is now available. CME Group’s Dave Lerman discusses topics that include: How Micro E-minis compare to ETFs Spread trading opportunities with Micro E-mini futures Tax efficiencies of trading Micro E-mini futures vs. stocks and ETFs How daily movements compare in Micro E-minis vs. E-minis in different volatility scenarios
Been trading micros. They are a great tool to practice trading. I'm still working on improving my futures trading. More importantly, I wanted to practice particular patterns. So far, that has been somewhat effective. But a certain patterns I'm still not able to execute correctly even though logically and analytically I know they are correct. Fast moving breakouts. I usually try to enter before the breakout and wait then when it happens I just ride it. But when a fast moving breakout happen I can't seem to get in. I guess I've been burned in the past where I get in then that's the point of reversal or fast breakout. That's the one pattern I want to be fix with the micros. What I've been refining and getting better is exiting at a trend's local minima/local maxima. Then reversed the trade. For example short then at the local extreme cover. Wait for a reversal signal. Buy then go for the short term ride. In the past, if I held onto the original short it would reversed very nastily! Then I would cover at the worse possible point and give up a lot of open profits. Then ,of course, after covering it would resume it's normal downward trend. But philosophically, on one of my sim account I have been short a few days ago and holding. Making way more money. I guess I can see patterns on a daily candles but it's hard to stomach all the pullbacks. So I end up trying to do intraday trend trading which has been extremely difficult to master. just some reflections
The M2K might not be a bad way to go with those practice runs. Less cash at risk and the movement on it is good enough during volatility to create some quick profits. A bit wider spreads but not bad.