emini s+p trading

[Goliath-UK]

first day here so be gentle lol , i was wondering if anyone has found a profitable way to trade the s+p emini, theres lots of people willing to show you for a small fortune , but wondered if any folks here have had success , thanks a lot ...Goliath-UK

 

[JonnyT]

Its a sh!t to day trade, as are most stock indices.

I'm Forex only now, so my advice is don't bother.

JonnyT

 

[Hooya]

so what is better about Forex??

 

[JonnyT]

It moves more per day and is also liquid.

i.e. the EUR/USD will generally have a range above 100 pips i.e 100 times spread. The S&P rarely moves 25 points from the open (it might gap) i.e. 100 times spread.

JonnyT

 

[Hooya]

dont you just then end up having bigger stops??

 

[JonnyT]

Hi Hooya,

I run a system with a very small stop, if that answers your question. (much smaller than you probably think)

The thing mostly trends full stop.

JonnyT

 

[Hooya]

ok.full stop

 

[dax]

JonnyT,

Spread is 1 pip ?

Futures are running about 3-4 pip and spot is usually 4 pips. What exactly are you trading ?

 

[BBB]

How much commission do you pay? Is it flat rate or do they widen the spread to get their commission as is usual.

I understand that most charge 1-3 pips. CSFB however charge 12!

 

[josbarr]

EUR/USD is usually 3 pips.
ES also has exchange fees if you want to look at live charts.

 

[JTrader]

02-02-2004, 08:45 AM #2
JonnyT
Legendary Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Notts
Posts: 1,724
"Its a sh!t to day trade, as are most stock indices.

I'm Forex only now, so my advice is don't bother.

JonnyT"

Hello

I understand the opinion that the s&p500 emini contract is very difficult to daytrade, given the small daily range of perhaps up to 25 points. However, from looking at the charts, trends and opportunities to profit do exist, and so from the outside I do not see the quted opinion as being naturally correct. While the actual range of movements with the s&p500 emini may be a lot smaller than with forex currency pairs, the fact that each point movement per s&p emini contract is equal to $50 means that it may be equally possible and straightforward to be equally profitable trading the emini s&p500 as it is with forex currency pairs.

However, I have not traded this contract, so what do more experienced traders think?Do you agree with my ideas? if not, why not?

Thanks a lot

jtrader

 

[JTrader]

.........Also.........

I am aware that the main trading hours are between 0930-1615 New York time. Howver, I am in the UK. I am aware that the s&p500 emini contract is traded 23 hours per day, 5 days per week. I am after some kind of indication as to what the volume and liquidity is like during the UK main trading hours - 0800-1630 or 1700 (0300-1130 EST)- as these would be my preferred trading hours. However, if the market was thin during this time, I guess I would need to adopt the New York hours.

Thanks

jtrader.

 

[frugi]

EUR/USD Globex future has a spread of one pip and IB charge $3 per side = just less than half a pip per round trip. The CME fee (through MyTrack at least) is $30 a month and includes lots (probably all) of other futures such as ES, YM, YI, YG. If you don't want currency futures it is $15 a month.

I find it considerably easier to trade EUR than ES but explaining why would be difficult. FWIW the moves seem technically purer, there's less big boys' trickery, the trends are longer, the patterns sharper and the trading ranges more obvious.

Here is an ES chart to show difference in volume and movement out of US hours for jtrader. Personally I wouldn't bother with anything but the main session.

I've also attached a 2 min chart of the Euro to show some clean trading opportunities. Pivots, double bottoms, vol climaxes, hammer reversals, rectangle breaks etc. Got to watch out around 1.30 news though!

 

[dbphoenix]

.........Also.........

I am aware that the main trading hours are between 0930-1615 New York time. Howver, I am in the UK. I am aware that the s&p500 emini contract is traded 23 hours per day, 5 days per week. I am after some kind of indication as to what the volume and liquidity is like during the UK main trading hours - 0800-1630 or 1700 (0300-1130 EST)- as these would be my preferred trading hours. However, if the market was thin during this time, I guess I would need to adopt the New York hours.

Thanks

jtrader.

I trade the NQ, but the principles are the same. There are a number of reasons I like futures, one of which is the predictability of targets (not 100% predictable, of course). But, depending on your goals as a trader, you needn't sit in front of your computer for hours in order to extract money from the market. One can usually complete one's business in the first 90-120m of the trading day (i.e., beginning at 0930 EST), again depending on one's goals. For me, trading outside normal market hours is somewhat less exciting than watching paint dry, but devotees may disagree.

 

[TRADINGXYZ]

.........Also.........

I am aware that the main trading hours are between 0930-1615 New York time. Howver, I am in the UK. I am aware that the s&p500 emini contract is traded 23 hours per day, 5 days per week. I am after some kind of indication as to what the volume and liquidity is like during the UK main trading hours - 0800-1630 or 1700 (0300-1130 EST)- as these would be my preferred trading hours. However, if the market was thin during this time, I guess I would need to adopt the New York hours.

Thanks

jtrader.

hello

saw your post. ive been trading the sp500 emini since 2002. my personal opinion is that the best time to trade this contract is 930-1130 eastern us time ..that would make it 230-430pm london time. In general there is never an issue of liquidity from930-415...trading tends to dry up alittle during lunch hours, appx 12-130 est, but in general the contract is very liquid during nyc hours. Do not be fooled by the 23 hours of trading..from430pm est till 2-3 am est the contract is very quiet with little liquidity..it starts picking up around 3am, when germany and london are opening...

if anyone knows, is there a mini ftse100 contract or something similar?

regards
chris

 

[Renatogrant]

Chris,

Like you i trade the ES exclusively. Agree that volume increases dramatically soon as the main market opens at 2.30 GMT. Before this, volume is low and prices are all over the place. Depending on a given style & target preference, i daytrade & scalp, you can, with practise, achieve your daily targets by trading for a few hours, sometimes less, sometimes more. Horses for courses I say, I prefer this index to any other as it makes sense to me in terms of its movement etc etc but then i have been watching this market for about 3 years daily. The ES contract or the YM or NQ contracts are all highly liquid, the ES being the most liquid & volatile, which is why us daytraders love it! Margin requirements are not silly, depending on your broker, Round turns are about $5- $6. Personally i use ninjatrader with a live zenfire feed which works for me. Others will use whatever platform/charting software works for them. Indicators are a personal choice for all. I use support & resistance and price action primarily but then i use volume, macd and stochastics in conjunction. Works for me! I,m happy with between 4-5 points a day 1 contract until i build up my account. Some trade 5 - 10 etc etc. Its all about what works for you.
As far as I know chris there is no mini FtSE contract available.

Rgds
Renato

I see & I forget
I hear & I remember
I do & I understand

 

[pboyles]

.........Also.........

I am aware that the main trading hours are between 0930-1615 New York time. Howver, I am in the UK. I am aware that the s&p500 emini contract is traded 23 hours per day, 5 days per week. I am after some kind of indication as to what the volume and liquidity is like during the UK main trading hours - 0800-1630 or 1700 (0300-1130 EST)- as these would be my preferred trading hours. However, if the market was thin during this time, I guess I would need to adopt the New York hours.

Thanks

jtrader.

Its not great during UK hours, at least before 1.30pm. I still trade it sometimes, even around 9am on occasions but it can be very slow going. I also trade the Euro Bund and Eurostoxx and occassionally the FTSE as these move quite a bit from 7am UK time.

By the way when you trade futures rather than spreadbet you basically have no spread to pay. Commissions can be very low, perhaps $2 or $3 depending on your volume. That means you can scalp for one or two ticks and still make money. Depending on your broker you may or may not have to pay for live data but the cost is low.

 

[Delta traders]

first day here so be gentle lol , i was wondering if anyone has found a profitable way to trade the s+p emini, theres lots of people willing to show you for a small fortune , but wondered if any folks here have had success , thanks a lot ...Goliath-UK

Hi
I'm with Delta Traders and it's been great. Have a look at my last entry yesterday: