Hi,
in general the Tier 1 stocks (bellwether stocks of the respective sector) will follow the future the best since they are the first ones to follow the respective future. Usually you can say that the future moves first, followed by the tier1 stocks, tier2 stocks etc. Very popular stocks to follow each day in conjunction with the Nasdaq future are: AMAT, CSCO, BRCM, QCOM, CIEN, INTC. Those stocks usually have a good range every day and therefore room for profit. They all have different characteristics in their movement, which is usually determined by the free float of a stock and it's volume. The more float and volume the more stable the stock. As a beginner I would certainly start with the more stable stocks like CIEN or INTC. Even as a pro I would never monitor more than 2 stocks at the same time in order to keep you focused. I attached a chart, that shows you how AMAT moves pretty synchronic to the nas future. But knowing this certainly will not give you any gains. A solid strategy for trading those stocks is needed. At the open for example you will often see very nice movement in one direction followed by a counter move. Letâs say the future gaps down 20 Points and than moves back up 15 points after the open and AMAT followed that move. The future is nearing it's previous days close (which serves as resistance). You know that it is very likely that the future and AMAT will have a good chance to reverse here. Now you are looking for clear signs of a reversal. A very helpful tool to identify those reversals are stochastics. Or you will just be able to feel the move out...future is not gaining that strong any more...starts stalling and then sliding lower. I would go short once such a top is made and AMAT reverses (stop above high). What I actually do is, I focus primary on AMAT and just look at the future for confirmation...meaning I would not go short if the future is still up trending. Later in the day when movements are more flat I would focus on chart patterns. Ok , this was just a short explanation. Maybe I can get into more detail later.
Good trades,
Jens
mhh..chart didn't show up in preview but you will find it here as well. I used a line chart for AMAT.