Comments on: Which mini equity futures contract is best? http://theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/index.php/2008/11/10/which-mini-equity-futures-contract-is-best/ Information and resources for those looking to learn about trading and the markets Wed, 23 May 2012 13:10:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Is it possible to trade only on the monthly charts? | The Essentials of Trading http://theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/index.php/2008/11/10/which-mini-equity-futures-contract-is-best/#comment-19392 Is it possible to trade only on the monthly charts? | The Essentials of Trading Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:54:37 +0000 http://www.theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/?p=664#comment-19392 [...] yesterday’s post I started to answer an inquiry which came in from a prospective equity index futures trader over [...] [...] yesterday’s post I started to answer an inquiry which came in from a prospective equity index futures trader over [...]

]]> By: John http://theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/index.php/2008/11/10/which-mini-equity-futures-contract-is-best/#comment-13061 John Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:38:52 +0000 http://www.theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/?p=664#comment-13061 Bill - You'll see in the next post or two why I didn't bring up the scalping and such, and at $50k margins aren't really much of a factor either. It does all bring things down to your last comment/question and mine regarding matching index to style. Bill – You’ll see in the next post or two why I didn’t bring up the scalping and such, and at $50k margins aren’t really much of a factor either. It does all bring things down to your last comment/question and mine regarding matching index to style.

]]> By: Bill aka NO DooDahs! http://theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/index.php/2008/11/10/which-mini-equity-futures-contract-is-best/#comment-13059 Bill aka NO DooDahs! Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:12:09 +0000 http://www.theessentialsoftrading.com/Blog/?p=664#comment-13059 I would have thought the best response would have been another question, i.e. what style of trading do you do? 400K Nas minis is what, $24 BILLION in open interest? What does a trader with only $50K to trade care about liquidity past that? For a retail trader, unless they're scalping at huge leverage ratios, liquidity isn't really an issue. Speaking of leverage, it would have been nice to touch on the implied leverage of each contract at retail minimum overnight margins. I assume they're all close enough to 12:1 at current that it doesn't make a difference, but that is a far more pressing short-term trader's concern than whether the index is tech, industrial, or broad-based. Average daily volatility (as a percentage of market move) is probably a HUGE concern for day traders, with more being merrier. Historically the Dow is more volatile than the S&P but I haven't compared the Nasdaq contract to those. Probably the biggest question is "which index responds best to your style of trading?" That index is the best one to trade ... I would have thought the best response would have been another question, i.e. what style of trading do you do?

400K Nas minis is what, $24 BILLION in open interest? What does a trader with only $50K to trade care about liquidity past that?

For a retail trader, unless they’re scalping at huge leverage ratios, liquidity isn’t really an issue.

Speaking of leverage, it would have been nice to touch on the implied leverage of each contract at retail minimum overnight margins. I assume they’re all close enough to 12:1 at current that it doesn’t make a difference, but that is a far more pressing short-term trader’s concern than whether the index is tech, industrial, or broad-based.

Average daily volatility (as a percentage of market move) is probably a HUGE concern for day traders, with more being merrier. Historically the Dow is more volatile than the S&P but I haven’t compared the Nasdaq contract to those.

Probably the biggest question is “which index responds best to your style of trading?” That index is the best one to trade …

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