FTSE 100 vs German DAX: which is best and what indicator?

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Just opened up a spread betting account.

To all those experienced traders out there; if I want to make some money by placing a trade on a big directional move which is the better to bet on; FTSE or DAX?

Also what are the best indicators to use to identify a directional move?
 
Dax starts an hour earlier than FT. That might influence your decision. You, also, need to decide how you want to trade ie. interday or longer term overnight trading.

After that, it's personal choice. Don't forget the SP, which has a lower margin and spread. You should be getting a point spread on Dax and FT.

I use my eye for trend direction and a line chart. It's practice, try it.
 
Depending on your TP and freq of trades, you may want to demo a number of platforms before going live trading dax - its v thin vols and you will have slippage, this may vary depending on who your broker is.

There's plenty to read about re trading strategies, excl / incl indicators. Do some searching.

Or trade both as a spread!
 
Some quick facts on the European indices:

FTSE/Z : lot less volatile than FDAX...if you were starting off trading stick to FTSE or the FESX (Eurostoxx50)...the average daily range on FDAX is a lot wider than FTSE and is prone to gapping intraday, often by 15 points + which is not something you'd get in FTSE

In terms of hours traded, the offical hours for FTSE/Z is 1am to 9pm, whereas FDAX is 7am to 9pm...obviously prior to 8am, the volume is exceptionally thin and I wouldn't encourage you to trade in size!!

In terms of volume, FTSE vol is a lot lower than FDAX....both however are tiny in comparison to FESX, which trades 10x as much as is the most liquid equity index contract outside the ES (S&P).

Don't use indicators such as RSI/MACD etc, just concentrate on price action and likely support & resistance areas, paying attention to pivots and previous days high/low
 
Forgot to mention in above:

After market closes at 9pm, the spreads on both contracts widen, FDAX by 10 points, FTSE by 6, so be careful in placing stops.

After 4.30pm, the 1 point spread moves to 2 points and they both track the US markets.

In case of FTSE, it goes into auction at about 7.50am to 8am, and the spread widens to 4 points if memory serves....whereas FDAX is at a constant 2 point spread from 7am to 8am
 
FTSE VS DAX ....which is best ?

why dont you trade them both and split your investment per trade by 50%

N
 
NVP said:
FTSE VS DAX ....which is best ?

why dont you trade them both and split your investment per trade by 50%

N
Click to expand...

tried doing a hedge between them , works ok but not very profitable, also my question was more about, from experienced traders, which moves better, is less volatile and a nice pattern to profit from and also what indicators are best because i've tried using bollinger bands stochastics etc. on various times and doesn't work well as it would when trading other products such has commodities.
 
rabc1 said:
Don't use indicators such as RSI/MACD etc, just concentrate on price action and likely support & resistance areas, paying attention to pivots and previous days high/low
Click to expand...

Spot on.......
Nothing more complicated than that....
 
rabc1 said:
Some quick facts on the European indices:

FTSE/Z : lot less volatile than FDAX...if you were starting off trading stick to FTSE or the FESX (Eurostoxx50)...the average daily range on FDAX is a lot wider than FTSE and is prone to gapping intraday, often by 15 points + which is not something you'd get in FTSE

In terms of hours traded, the offical hours for FTSE/Z is 1am to 9pm, whereas FDAX is 7am to 9pm...obviously prior to 8am, the volume is exceptionally thin and I wouldn't encourage you to trade in size!!

In terms of volume, FTSE vol is a lot lower than FDAX....both however are tiny in comparison to FESX, which trades 10x as much as is the most liquid equity index contract outside the ES (S&P).

Don't use indicators such as RSI/MACD etc, just concentrate on price action and likely support & resistance areas, paying attention to pivots and previous days high/low
Click to expand...

thanks a lot for that,good info; when looking at volume what do you look for; always high volume because its liquid and you can get in and out more?meaning it shouldn't move in a more volatile way and give you a chance to minimize loss etc.? I use IG index and I don't think many of there indicators are good for anything let alone volume (i compare this to other more professional trading platforms like CQG, but obviously CQG has a cost!!) when looking for stats on volume etc. what do use, the exchanges website e.g. London stock exchange or reuters for example where would you get your info?
 
ramo88 said:
tried doing a hedge between them , works ok but not very profitable, also my question was more about, from experienced traders, which moves better, is less volatile and a nice pattern to profit from and also what indicators are best because i've tried using bollinger bands stochastics etc. on various times and doesn't work well as it would when trading other products such has commodities.
Click to expand...

If it's a medium to long term directional bet then you don't need much. A good method is to simply compare the relative performance between each index and add a simple moving average. Attached is a chart showing the relative performance between the FTSE, DAX, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. As you can see currently the best performer is the DAX as the FTSE 100 has underperformed it by -12.06%, and not far behind that is the Nasdaq 100 which has outperformed the FTSE 100 by 11.33% since the start of the year.

So a simple method is spread your money between a few of the top performers and adjust your trade when as that changes. i.e. when the moving average direction changes.

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IG's spreads don't obviously show any volume as they just reflect the indices themselves. To get volume data you need quotes for the Z & FDAX contracts, they're the futures contracts of the FTSE & DAX. Nearly all software such as CQG, eSignal, DTN/IQ provide this data at a cost, but if you're going to trade, it's a small price to pay.
 
ramo88 said:
if that is code for some special trading system share it otherwise writing stupid comments like that, quite frankly take 'em and ram it
Click to expand...

Am afraid buddy there are more than a few clowns on the forum that offer nothing, but are quick to laugh at others.....
Just ignore them as I have learnt to do at last......:smart:
 
Trade them both, ditch the indicators, they just put a frame around what your looking at.
That's good at first, but after a while, ( a long while), price action forms some logic in your head, then the frame of indicators becomes foggy and a little late.
Don't put too much on, you can be bold later.
Enjoy the ride
 
I must address my above comments, don't ditch the indicators altogether, but don't rely on them altogether either.
there is no best indicator!, you need to play with them find what works / dosnt in different markets, (try using the sell signal youll get on a standard rsi method in a raging bull run!!!), youll get the drift.
 
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