Is it easier to trade consistently for profits with futures than stocks?

[comagnum]

Short squeezes are not only possible in Futures, but even more likely.[/QUOTE]

Stocks have a fixed float unlike futures which have an unlimited supply. Short squeeze applies only to stocks in the true sense of the definition. I have never been trapped in a futures contract in a short squeeze, I sure have with stocks.

 

[cvds16]

Learn to trade instrumen)s with a real cheap broker where you can trade 0.01 lots ... you can try out several things without really hurting yourself (I am talking for things like cfd's or fx). I do this through Tickmill and it looks like I am starting to see the light. It took me over decade trading small at oanda first (tickmill is better) ... a lot of people talk a great talk but can they really do it consistantly over the long run that's the question. You should have a really good strategy that's based on something ... also I think you shouldn't try to scalp in futuresmarkets, HFT will be way ahead of you ... Personally I like to trade the Dax. But maybe I found something similar for trading eurusd. I am still testing that out.

 

[tomorton]

Its nice to be able to trade both individual stocks but also other instruments, by futures for example as suggested here.

The only markets with inherent upward buoyancy are stock indices and for that reason I don't often short the indices themselves. Bearish tendencies tend to be short and likely to end with an uptrend. Likewise, I don't like shorting stocks when the indices are bearish - when the indices turn bullish again, even the dogs can get rapidly bought up.

So when the indices are not bullish, I focus on forex, oil and gold. When the indices go bullish, I go long on the indices directly - less risk than individual stocks - but that's also the time I do like to short really weak individual stocks.

 

[Palindrome]

With futures I can put decent size on and not have to worry about gap risk as I don’t hold over the weekend, and trade futures 23 hours a day.

I feel much more comfortable trading futures over stock in looking at the above aspect. I trade the usual suspects in the cme futures world...the ultra liquid contracts that typically don’t gap during the week.

Also... stocks can be pretty correlated intra week which sucks.

Futures...sure at times there is correlation...but I can be long gold short crude and long NG and they are all different trades.

I can be long AAPL and CAT during the week and during many weeks a year they have correlation so there is zero diversity in the two positions.

 

[Turveyd]

Stocks for me, was hours of research every night after the close, then watching and looking for entries with the stocks I'd picked out to watch the next day, so 18hour days and you can't take a day off while I had money in play so 24/5 which drove me nuts, till PDT stopped me playing sadly I was good and making good $$$'s

Futures, switch on, check no planned news out while your likely to be in a trade, watch the charts, get in, get out a few times, switch off, go do something else, more direct, like you could make a good wage every day, when you crack it.

Downside is, futures you've got to be able to think quickly and react, not sit there hoping it'll turn back your way, this is the bit I struggle at, Stocks plenty of thinking time.

 

[Turveyd]

With futures I can put decent size on and not have to worry about gap risk as I don’t hold over the weekend, and trade futures 23 hours a day.

I feel much more comfortable trading futures over stock in looking at the above aspect. I trade the usual suspects in the cme futures world...the ultra liquid contracts that typically don’t gap during the week.

Also... stocks can be pretty correlated intra week which sucks.

Futures...sure at times there is correlation...but I can be long gold short crude and long NG and they are all different trades.

I can be long AAPL and CAT during the week and during many weeks a year they have correlation so there is zero diversity in the two positions.

Stocks are more about trading the market, they all follow it, there are some which ignore but rare, best i could find is, these stocks in a up day, will go up higher than they’d go down on a down day, its all kinda pointless, less BS with futures.

I used to work by Index then Sector then Stocks within, if index bullish then find. Bullish sector and trade bullish stocks within, 66% of account, 33% bearish sector and bearish stocks to cover me for down days and vice versa.

 

[helpme_please]

When the indices go bullish, I go long on the indices directly - less risk than individual stocks - but that's also the time I do like to short really weak individual stocks.

I don't quite understand why you short weak individual stocks when indices go bullish. When indices are bullish, the general market sentiment is bullish. Why do you short weak individual stocks when market sentiment is bullish? Wouldn't probability of short succeeding be higher when indices are bearish which means market sentiment is bearish?

 

[tomorton]

I don't quite understand why you short weak individual stocks when indices go bullish. When indices are bullish, the general market sentiment is bullish. Why do you short weak individual stocks when market sentiment is bullish? Wouldn't probability of short succeeding be higher when indices are bearish which means market sentiment is bearish?

When the stock indices are bullish, I trade them directly, so going long on individual bullish stocks would effectively be adding to the position size, which could take my capital risk outside my % tolerance. If I did want to increase bullish gains, it would be more efficient simply to increase the stake on the index.

But when the index is bullish, if you can find consistently weak stocks, they can often be extremely weak and out-perform the index in the opposite direction. They're also a potential hedge: even if they're not dropping particularly fast, if the index does turn bearish they can sometimes drop through the floor - if they couldn't rise when most other index members were bullish, picture what they're going to do when the buyers disappear. A risk however is that the company attracts a take-over bid and the stock price starts to auction upwards, or the stock gets so low it starts to look like a long-term value investment.

 

[themickey]

When the stock indices are bullish, I trade them directly, so going long on individual bullish stocks would effectively be adding to the position size, which could take my capital risk outside my % tolerance. If I did want to increase bullish gains, it would be more efficient simply to increase the stake on the index.

But when the index is bullish, if you can find consistently weak stocks, they can often be extremely weak and out-perform the index in the opposite direction. They're also a potential hedge: even if they're not dropping particularly fast, if the index does turn bearish they can sometimes drop through the floor - if they couldn't rise when most other index members were bullish, picture what they're going to do when the buyers disappear. A risk however is that the company attracts a take-over bid and the stock price starts to auction upwards, or the stock gets so low it starts to look like a long-term value investment.

Yes and often small cap stocks which had run up hard on a weak market, when the overall market turns bullish, profit takers will exit positions from toppy small caps sending them down again. Small caps often can run on (a) high PE ratios making them relatively expensive or (b) have no earnings and being speculative in nature don't have a price target set by anyone of influence, and (c) institutions don't support them which increases the chances a nose dive can be spectacular.