Quote from Spectre2007:
SP500 index calculation ---> who calculates and publishes it to all the newsfeeds...
SP500 Futures ---> futures move at spread from cash...
1) if you can calculate the index ahead of anyone else using the individual components then you can move futures in direction of the next calc.
2)If your going to profit on the variability of the spread between cash and futures you can execute program buying or selling on individual index components to bring the spread inline.
which ever side is pressured first drives the other.
FYI.
THe Premium was set daily at a web location.
the location was indexarb.com.
If you have cruised timber and have your estimating booklet of tables, you can make money buying and selling timber.
Lets suppose you want to make money in markets.
Just set up a price driver relation that uses the Premium and the index.
Why not skip using the Premium and make a substitute for it?
Thats what happened historically.
smart money has this 'tell.
this means that you can be "pushed" by smart money by frontrunning smart money.
emg will tell you to go to college to take advanced math.
an alternative is to just frontrun smart money using a display that shows this phenomena. The leading nature is about 20 to 30 seconds.
I use a scale that is neutral vis a vis the truncation of the front month of the index. So I color the bars (in an OTR pace) to show the frontrunning sentiment that will be taking shape soon.
This means I can carve turns as the smart money sentiment shifts from one side to the other (in the near future).
In math parlance, I begin with functions. I combine them with operators. This gives me indicators. The indicators have signals.
My signal is the bars passing from one side of a neutral balance line in terms of sentiment of smart money and the truncating Premium substitute.(they also change color for more neural impact if my focus is somewhere else (I have 10 to 12 leading price drivers).
All of the math is public at this time.