ES vs NQ

T

traderwald

Hi guys,

What is the difference between ES and NQ. I guess this question has been asked.

But what I want to know is from a trading perspective - what do you do differently when trading ES vs NQ ?

Such as :

how far you keep you SL order in each ?

Number of lots you trade in each ?

Are you more cautious in one than the other ?

Which one do you get better fills in ?

which swings more in terms of dollar amount in a trading session ?

Thank you
 
Scalping wise, NQ is better in the current environment. I’ll scalp trends everyday in NQ and only hold for a couple minutes. But max lot size is 10 for me. Even that is pushing it due to slippage.

ES, I’ll wait for decent trend days and try to hold through the morning, but I will double or triple my size without a problem. Usually only trading 4-5 days a month in ES. gotta pick and choose best days to trade ES until volatility improves
 
NQ is great. ES, I wouldn't bother. The moment I start noticing liquidity issues for NQ, I'd probably just start trading CL again.

ES is a guaranteed $25 loss per trade due to the fact that you probably won't get filled without losing a tick, and NQ gets me filled at exact targets almost every time, and even if not, it's a $10-15 cost per trade at worst (1-3 ticks). You'll often get much larger moves on NQ as well, with less dead movement in between. This allows more in-between trades, while ES makes that much more difficult especially considering the 2 tick loss you accept and the fact that it doesn't move as much, if at all, during these in-between moves. I prefer NQ since I trade short term, though. So that might be different for you.
 
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Gasparov said:
NQ is great. ES, I wouldn't bother. The moment I start noticing liquidity issues for NQ, I'd probably just start trading CL again.

ES is a guaranteed $25 loss per trade due to the fact that you probably won't get filled without losing a tick, and NQ gets me filled at exact targets almost every time, and even if not, it's a $10-15 cost per trade at worst (1-3 ticks). You'll often get much larger moves on NQ as well, with less dead movement in between. This allows more in-between trades, while ES makes that much more difficult especially considering the 2 tick loss you accept and the fact that it doesn't move as much, if at all, during these in-between moves. I prefer NQ since I trade short term, though. So that might be different for you.
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What is your standard stop if you have one? With NQ, you pretty much need to make sure that your stop it at least 5 points away because price can whipsaw so much.
 
Gotcha said:
What is your standard stop if you have one? With NQ, you pretty much need to make sure that your stop it at least 5 points away because price can whipsaw so much.
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That's true. I usually use a 2-3.5 point stop, but I (ideally) make my entries very precise. I don't like sitting through swings, so I try to avoid taking trades until it's ready to move in one direction, or take shorter trades when it's a little more undecided. I suppose if someone's simply getting in at a relative range and hoping to hold for a few hours, they will deal with more movement, but my current methods allow tighter stops. I feel a hundred times more comfortable with a 3-3.5 point stop on NQ ($60-$70) than a 1 point stop on ES ($50) in the exact same setup.
 
Gasparov said:
That's true. I usually use a 2-3.5 point stop, but I (ideally) make my entries very precise. I don't like sitting through swings, so I try to avoid taking trades until it's ready to move in one direction, or take shorter trades when it's a little more undecided. I suppose if someone's simply getting in at a relative range and hoping to hold for a few hours, they will deal with more movement, but my current methods allow tighter stops (good for me, since I'm still trying to build a bigger account). I feel a hundred times more comfortable with a 3-3.5 point stop on NQ ($60-$70) than a 1 point stop on ES ($50) in the exact same setup.
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Those are decent numbers to work with in terms of stops, but for NQ, the entries do have to be precise. Either you have to catch a little micro range, or you have to have a limit order waiting. If I say to myself, ok, I want to wait for price to come down to this low and see what happens, there is no time to get in. It drops down a few points and shoots right back up. If there wasn't a limit order waiting there, you're not in. So now you're stuck either having to buy more than 3 points above where your stop needs to be, or you're not gonna get in. So I find it quite tricky in the past year, unlike a few years ago where a 3 point stop was much more useable.
 
sandp500trader said:
The NQ has less liquidity, so that's why I avoid it. You'll get worse fills, you'll get more slippage, etc... with the NQ. The ES is the boss.
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Less liquidity....worse fills?

Averages over 300,000 contracts a day volume which is more than enough for your 2-5 lots and the spread is always 1 tick which is $5.00.

Prefering one thing does not let you lie about the other security.
 
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