Intra day trading - Futures vs Equities

[amsterdam]

Which do you trade?
Indirectly asking, which do you believe offers the better opportunity to make a consistent living intra day trading?

I trade equities but the algo's of recent years and the now ultra low volume in this mkt is making this a near defunct biz.

I'm wondering if trading futures is the way to go?

Share your thoughts...

 

[Neenisti]

Futures hands down.
Better profit potential utilizing less margin.

 

[volente_00]

Quote from Neenisti:

Futures hands down.
Better profit potential utilizing less margin.

and better tax treatment

 

[Neenisti]

Quote from volente_00:

and better tax treatment

Hallelujah

 

[amsterdam]

The less I provide to Uncle Sam, the better I am...

Do you say futures is a better mkt to trade because it's more of a fluid/cleaner mkt to trade?

I mean, equities is filled with algo's, it's ridiculous!
Come lunch time, it's not who's a better trader - it's who has a better performing computer/algo. The Goldman or the Morgan boy's!

Also, the new short sale rule is an absolute killer.
I happen to trade to with a good trader and he's a identified an interesting gimmick on this short sale circuit and you can clearly see how they game it. Won't get into it now, but just to say, I don't see these gimmicks'/rules on the futures mkt!!!

 

[fanews]

The tax treatment is substantial if and ONLY if the trader is profitable. and trading as a professional.

Stocks is easier to make money than futures in my opinion whether it's daytrading or swingtrading.

with stocks you can invest in it

futures are a bad investment for the long term your are better off with ETF for investement or index fund than futures.

as for daytrading. futures and stocks are the same especially if you trade same index stocks...spy and ES is same intraday. same chart pattern.

only reason traders would trade ES is the tax treatment and more intaday leverage and don't need pattern day trading rule.

for US traders who want to daytrade stocks but don't have the 30,000 'admission fee', they would have to open an account with a 'unregulated' prop firms.

with futures, rarely do an FCM go under, more likely if an FCM does close another FCM takes over the customers account but not 'unregulated' prop firms. an unregulated prop firm can just close down and traders holding nothing. which is why for stock prop firms most don't have more than $5000 in the prop firms account. and some even lock the money for a year or have delays in paying you your profits and most are small 10 guy operations wheres as and futures FCM you are dealing with institutional regulated people with actual offices and thousands of customers.etc.

Quote from volente_00:

and better tax treatment

 

[tycoonman]

Quote from fanews:

The tax treatment is substantial if and ONLY if the trader is profitable. and trading as a professional.

Stocks is easier to make money than futures in my opinion whether it's daytrading or swingtrading.

with stocks you can invest in it

futures are a bad investment for the long term your are better off with ETF for investement or index fund than futures.

as for daytrading. futures and stocks are the same especially if you trade same index stocks...spy and ES is same intraday. same chart pattern.

only reason traders would trade ES is the tax treatment and more intaday leverage and don't need pattern day trading rule.

for US traders who want to daytrade stocks but don't have the 30,000 'admission fee', they would have to open an account with a 'unregulated' prop firms.

with futures, rarely do an FCM go under, more likely if an FCM does close another FCM takes over the customers account but not 'unregulated' prop firms. an unregulated prop firm can just close down and traders holding nothing. which is why for stock prop firms most don't have more than $5000 in the prop firms account. and some even lock the money for a year or have delays in paying you your profits and most are small 10 guy operations wheres as and futures FCM you are dealing with institutional regulated people with actual offices and thousands of customers.etc.

stocks are esier to trade than futures? news to me. I hate trading options and stocks with a passion.

you tell me a more liquid/volitile market than ES?

ES, FX, and CL in that order in terms of risk vs reward for me.

 

[ChkitOut]

stocks give you bigger swings and more opportunity to spread your trade signals over a larger sample thus giving you a smoother equity curve, theoretically.

you could see the same trade signal over 15 stocks and take them all, you might win on 9 and lose 6 as opposed to taking the one trade signal in the ES and having your numbers play out over days.. just a simple example. but in the end, trading is trading.

 

[pers]

stocks give you bigger swings and more opportunity to spread your trade signals over a larger sample thus giving you a smoother equity curve, theoretically.

you could see the same trade signal over 15 stocks and take them all, you might win on 9 and lose 6 as opposed to taking the one trade signal in the ES and having your numbers play out over days.. just a simple example. but in the end, trading is trading.

Not really. Few stocks have the type of swings that crude oil has, e.g.

Yes, trading is a numbers game and you want to diversify. But who is keeping you from trading multiple futures? Especially with the emicros coming in, you can literally day-trade 10-15 different liquid futures in an account as small as $10000