Someone PM'd me and asked why, if I am always talking about SPX, do I constantly mention Stock Index Futures?
The reason is this. Despite what anyone in NY tells you about the tail waggin the dog, the futures are by far the most important instruments to watch, not just before the markets open, but all the time. The reason is clear: when insitutions want to move large amounts of money, futures are the most efficient way to do it, period. For example, during the '87 crash, you always hear that the DOW was down 20%. But very few people know that the SP futures at the MERC were down close to 30 friggin % !!!!
That said, here is why I base all my analysis on the SPX. The futures expire every three months. Because of their time value, when one expires and the far out month becomes the front month, there is a gap in the futures charts, even though there may be no market movement. In order to keep the chart analysis smooth month after month, year after year, I just use SPX.
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