How do you trade the night session?

I assume your trading the FTSE....will there be any ES traders coming into the Chat?


I notice at when the Europeans start trading the ES can get more lively.

Michael B.
 
Quote from Scientist:


Hey Trader5287!

I tend to trade the US markets during my local night and the US pre-open as well as the Aussie SPI during my local afternoon.
I generally sleep between 6-7am to ~11/12am my time, if I sleep at all.

Quite often I don't have regular sleeping patterns, although I know I should. However, more important than a fixed sleeping time is a fixed amount of sleep. Less than 5 hours simply doesn't work. I catnap to compensate.

Often I, just like you, fall asleep during a trade - But tend to set alert triggers on the significant levels and already have a physical stop & trail-stop in place with my broker (I use FT - www.futures-trader.net).

That way, if the alert trigger doesn't wake me, I just get stopped out with a smaller gain or just a small loss.

I know this doesn't sound like a very productive trading regimen, but if you manage to trade the markets 24/7 like this, it can be quite lucrative. :)

Also, you'd be surprised how much more fun "day trading" can be if you just put up a trade, set your stops and go for a nap until your target is met. It's like "fast-forward" or a timemachine LOL :p

This just applies for more action-oriented traders like me, anyway. Most of the time, I'm too impatient (and risk averse) to day-trade, so I scalp (futures). When you're scalping, you tend to stay awake (caffeine accelerates heartrate, but scalping does, too)

Winston Churchill, for example, never slept a full night. He was known to work all day and night, while having between 5 and 8 half-hour 'cat-naps' per day. He said he was always refreshed and at the peak of his productivity. He also never exercised.

After all, he was successful in his endeavours to kick the squareheads' asses (pardon to my ancestors) etc, so he is to be respected. Since he rarely left his bedroom, it is said about him that "He ruled an empire from his bed"...

Anyway, just thought I'd note that here.

By the way, my day here in Western Australia is EST+12h.

Please read some interesting details on this earlier thread regarding this:
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20103&highlight=globex+glories


Yours Sincerely,
~The Scientist :cool:
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Scienist,

Thanks for the ideas. I'll take a look at that futures-trader as I use IB and am looking to hook it up to some service. I couldn't seem to get esignal right.

On the SPI, seems to me that def or somebody said it has a busy and slow season volumewise. You are in winter now right, for whatever that means? Mentioned here several months ago was www.incrediblecharts.com - an ambitious site by guys in your area.

Someone mentioned a chat with int'l traders. I don't know of any but right here at the ET chat I see able traders working the ZN bond contract, ER2 Russell 2K, and Euro in addition to the comon ones. I'd love to see more of that because those first times with a new foreign or uncommon instrument are scary if you trade alone. If nothing else, you could just tag along on someone else's entry to see what happens.

Geo.

PS: It would be fine if one morning you and 50 or so of your friends got up in a bad mood and sold the SPI - hard.:)
 
Quote from ElectricSavant:

I assume your trading the FTSE....will there be any ES traders coming into the Chat?


I notice at when the Europeans start trading the ES can get more lively.

Michael B.
More...

Savant,

I notice that right around 4:45 AM EDT, as an example. Sometimes I wonder if it might be news related. Our CNBC hasn't started up but they give a feed of what is going to be on it which shows on CNBC Europe. So for awhile there anyway, Europeans were seeing Brad and Liz 15 minutes earlier and if they had something interesting stateside to report... . So, I see ES, YM, NQ as truly international instruments at night. Asians, then Europeans, are trading their market news and world news off these futures as well as anticipating what will happen when US traders come on line. I also think CNBC Asia/Europe and the Bloomberg programming for those viewers is much more informative than our CNBC which I don't watch much after 6 AM.

Geo.
 
Quote from zentrader:

I'm in the chatroom now if anyone wants to discuss SPI trading. Market opens in 15...
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And I am at home where my chat mode doesn't work.

Zentrader you are one member definitely worth listening to.

Newbies, oldbies, anybies, if zen' is offering don't miss the opportunity.
 
One of the obvious things is that night traders often have that escape route in foreign futures or other markets, etc when that sudden need to hedge comes along. Many of us with ports and daytime positions don't have to wait for our core market to open. I've dodged a few bullets this way in the past. Much like having a fire extinguisher under the cabinet.


Geo.
 
You can find several different international chats on MIRC (not sure which servers). I have chatted with some Aussies on their close in the early am.
 
I trade the EUR/USD during the Asian markets. Many evenings the Japanese market will be slow until the last hour 10-11 pm PST. As the Japanese market starts to close there is some repositioning of trades depending on what people think will happen when Europe opens. The 30 minutes right after Japan closes is very thin and what I consider 'high risk' then things quiet down until Europe opens.

I am watching several timeframes of the Euro 1min, 5min and 30 min to look for trends and divergences. Usually I trade only 1 or 2 times a night and out of the market before going to bed when Japan closes. I don't stay in front of the computer all evening but check every 15 minutes or so unless something interesting is going on. I am trying to build a habit of always looking for trades 24 hours a day if I am near a computer. "There is always a good trade happening somewhere!"

The trading skills are the same, the technology is the same. It does take some will power to enter a new trade when I am tired. (Missed a good trade earlier this evening...) During the day I am trading NQ and EC (euro futures).

During the evening, I am listening to Bloomberg radio http://www.bloomberg.com/media/radio/listen.html over the internet for news that might effect the opening of the Euro markets.

Other screens include the Globex ES, NQ, Gold (Pacific closings), and the Nikkei equities market.

The best source of info on Forex is www.global-view.com which has a lot of pros calling their trades. I don't know of any IRC chatrooms for forex markets that is active during Pacific and European hours. Can anyone recommend a IRC chatroom for forex?

Good trading!
ramora
 
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