Daytrading the SPY or QQQ...?

limbo

why do u think people are afraid to give out their wining systems or methodolgy in case it then stops to work?

i dont think thats the case at all - although broadcasting a currently working arbitrage opportunity would probably kill it - i think telling someone your technique in trading indexes would probably, if anything, add to the technique, since it may add momentum to the begining of the move to get it going

whats your exact methodology and annual return%?
 
Stevet that's my question-you tell me why??For me trading the q's I buy at support areas and sell at resistence areas-trading off the 5 and 15 min charts and looking at the 15 and 60 min charts for s/r-while paying attention to various moving averages- trading off the 5 and 15 min charts I watch the 20 sma on the 5-15-60 min. charts. Nothing terrific which is why Im involved in this thread in the first place. My #'s are my business.
 
DTNYC,

Try www.vtoreport.com They have a strategy there where you buy the QQQ when the NDX 5day RSI goes below 30 and sell when the NDX 5 day goes above 50. This method has a gain of 193% over the last 6 years which is a 12 - 13% compounded annually return.

This isn't daytrading, but with a little tweaking the return could be improved ie margin, shorting, etc.

This strategy is published on the net for all to see.

Ed:) :)
 
What I have found from many that try to trade the QQQ is that tier approach is wrong. You must look for things that are not obvious and that may break many fundamental trading rules. To give you a heads up without giving you my personal trading system what I can do is tell what does not work. ( or at least what works less frequently )

1. Short term breakouts against longerterm trends. Like playing a range break on a 5 minute chart right into 15 minute resistance.

2. Going with trend when it is extended intraday. Shorting lows late in the day on a strong down day may get a few ticks but is not the best strategy.

3. Trading the first 30 or last 30 minutes of the day. My personal performance is weak during these periods, I do far better between the hours of 10am and 3pm when moves are slower and trading less erratic.

4. Overtrading is a killer. If you are looking for moves greater than .15 from entry I find there are only 3-4 trades a day that offer good setup entries and little wiggle.

To sum up, I have found that in trading the indices it as much about what NOT to do as it is about what you actually do.

AllenZ
 
The guy asked "HOW?" 90% of the response is very watered down, theoretical, general stuff. Where's the specific TA techniques that he asked for? Yea, well that's just what happens (most of the time) when someone asks a direct how question. People start beating around the bush rather than discussing actual techniques.
 
IMO, DAY trading the qqq or spy is a little too difficult for a few reasons.
1) the range is small....so to make good $ intraday you need to move some decent size, and if you're at a pro firm and you're paying per share you're already at a disadvantage
2)everybody is trading them...which again makes the range small
3)the range is too small :)

daytraderNYC, if you really want to daytrade the index..open a futures account...if your firm won't let you..find a way
or you can find a nas stock that follows the qqq..that offers a bigger range...and if you want you can ofset the vol with an opposite pos in the qqq.....some stox that have a wider range and correlate well are xlnx or qlgc

or you can swing 'em in a different acct...or maybe your firm will let you
 
Hey, daytradernyc I wish I could offer you some help on this one. Unfortunately, I do not daytrade. I recently met you in an AOL Chatroom and you were quite helpful in explaining and clarifying your trading. Hopefully, the same kindness will be returned to you.:)

I think these guys think you are some inexperienced newbie. The fact of the matter, as you already know, is that a very great majority here do not have the answer and do not trade successfully. As a result, they post negatively. Hopefully, you did not get offended.

good luck and have continued profits dude.
 
To all who have posted anything useful in this thread...I thank you. I have already gotten more out of this question than I had anticipated. For those of you who thought it was a silly question to ask, I guess you won't get anything out of the postings here. Your loss.

As Trader101 mentioned, I have a very very specific method I use profitably everyday. Suffice it to say, Ive been at this for 3 years and make a comfortable living. I very rarely trade the index stocks but have come to realize that I may be able to use it to my advantage because of soemthing that happened at my firm recently (which is not important to post here).

The small range is not a hinderance to me... All Im interested is not losing any money...I dont care if i can just cover my commission. My interest in trading the SPY or QQQ is to (I know some of you are going to cringe at this) pump up my volume to cut my rates..but not at the expense of losing money by trading these. As of right now, I can trade up to 10,000 shares of SPY or QQQ or DIA. 10 round trips adds up to 10K x 2 x 10 = 200,000 shares a day + other stocks I would trade. That could add up to 300,000 to 400,000 as an average daily volume which would command lower rates from my firm. My money would be made by trading other stocks... my usual method. SPY or QQ is just there to increase my volume. That's enough to lower my rates on everything I do (bullets and regular commission) and increase my payout which would be worth it for me in the end. But , again, I do not want to lose money in the process. As long as I can break even, thats all that matters to me at this time.

Agaion, thanks for the various input - they will all help me.
 
Originally posted by Pabst
What I think is neat about Index trading is that one merely(ha!) need figure out the psychology of the general list. i.e. Is the market fixated on oil prices or earnings ect.
More...

Are you saying you try to figure out the current market fixation and that helps in your index trading? Care to elaborate?
 
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