Index Futures in the Off-Hours

J

Jdesey

Is anyone trading ES,NQ,YM, etc... outside of the normal Chicago session?

I have stayed away due to low volume, but someone I respect is encouraging me to look at the hours of 2:00AM - 5:00AM Cst (12-3 in Cali) for good opportunities. I believe that is the opening in London.

any thoughts?
 
really,,, please tell me more... why do yo prefer the after hours?

I have just looked at some charts, will be looking at many more this weekend. Yes , there are some great moves over night, as well there is a pretty solid move some days in the hour before regular trading begins in Chicago
 
I trade - as in set swing positions, sometimes at night on the more liquid contracts and only when the Euro secession is opened. Your right - a lot of the big reversals that spark of reversals are born in the night session. The night session is cool - the moves are often more directional with less volatility, making it easier to get into a winning position.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyl...the-cool-kids-are-night-trading/#45b9690e4f6a


Most people seem to think the open is where most of the price action is - and it used to be many years ago. The night session has the largest gains , followed by the second half of the day (12:00-16:00).

SP500 (ES) Cumulative price gains by time of day - Eastern TMZ

Gains_4_hours_1.PNG
 
Jdesey said:
really,,, please tell me more... why do yo prefer the after hours?

I have just looked at some charts, will be looking at many more this weekend. Yes , there are some great moves over night, as well there is a pretty solid move some days in the hour before regular trading begins in Chicago
More...

Don't look at hindsight charts of the overnight trading session. Instead, monitor it real-time as its occurring including bid/ask/Time and Sales information. If you like what you see...backtest your trade method properly (a few weeks of looking at charts is not backtesting).

Usually those solid moves you see in the overnight trading session are related to events out of Europe and Asia.
 
Hmm. Very interesting. Who would of ever guessed. I also assumed the first 3 hours to be the biggest moves.

Now if I can figure out how to live w no sleep!
 
Jdesey said:
Now if I can figure out how to live w no sleep!
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Any gains won't be worth the quality of life trade off IMO. But if you insist the 2nd hour of the London open is where the real moves usually happen. The first hour is basically the "open" hour and like US indexes in that a move is made but not necessarily the move that will continue. Sometimes the "real" move happens 15m after the open.
 
wrbtrader said:
Don't look at hindsight charts of the overnight trading session. Instead, monitor it real-time as its occurring including bid/ask/Time and Sales information. If you like what you see...backtest your trade method properly (a few weeks of looking at charts is not backtesting).

Usually those solid moves you see in the overnight trading session are related to events out of Europe and Asia.
More...
Hey buddy any chance you can pull the same chart for NQ
 
I just broke down my journal looking at trades by time slots and it's very interesting.

If I only trade the first two hours that Chicago is open it decreased my results by 20percent. But when I looked at trading the first two hours in the last hour and a half it only decreased my results by 8 ticks per day on the NQ. Vs trading the whole session
 
i960 said:
Any gains won't be worth the quality of life trade off IMO. But if you insist the 2nd hour of the London open is where the real moves usually happen. The first hour is basically the "open" hour and like US indexes in that a move is made but not necessarily the move that will continue. Sometimes the "real" move happens 15m after the open.
More...

If you are a contrarian trader
3 am est is often where the money is at
Followed by 6 am est
 
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