Currently I play around with DIA Options and might try e-mini futures but are there any other effective alternatives to swing trade the DJI that require smaller margins than the futures?
2006-10-09 20:08:51 · 3 answers · asked by Trufflehunter_22 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
I wish I knew. The wipsaws have gotten so wild, I can't hardly stay with the trend anymore, or identify it.
I think there is a Double Diamond, but that's still a far cry from the Dow futures, and I couldn't live on that. I've traded the Dow for about 15 yrs, and hardly know it anymore. I would also rather swing trade, but it forces me to Day Trade.
It's forced me to trade shorter and shorter time frames. I break it down now into the morning session from 9:30-11:30, and the afternoon session from 1:30 or 2:00-4:00.
I don't trade the open, but I'm looking for a turnaround or confirmation of the open between 8:45-9:00 that will carry into lunch, then I get out.
Then after lunch, I'm looking for a breakout that will carry into the last half-hour turnaround. These are my "swing" trades now. Forget trying to hold overnight, unless a new trend has just blasted off.
I tried the index options for about a year, but the premium fluctuations were beyond reason. Or you can't trade the breakouts, because the premium has already expanded, and it doesn't move at all.
I switched over to trading the Forex in June, then mostly just watched as the Dow finally got into a trend after July. But I've made some money with the currencies; they trend better.
Speaking of which, you may look closer at trading the Russell 2000 mini. It seems to trend better than the Dow, and isn't as wild. The volume has grown considerably, and it's definately tradeable. Whenever I'm questioning the trend intraday, I look to the ER2.
Good luck.
2006-10-09 20:33:17 · answer #1 · answered by dredude52 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Are you looking for alternate instruments or alternate strategies, because they're two different things?
Outside of DIA options, the Dow and mini-DOW futures are quite popular. One of my friends LOVES the mini-DOW and swears by it. The mini-DOW also has lower margin requirements.
His broker is great. He doesn't settle until after the trade closes and his money's just held in margin in T-bills. Great way to go earning the extra rate in addition to his profits.
I wouldn't trade the futures options, but that's up to you.
For now, if you can't afford via your money management strategy to trade the futures, I'd continue with DIA options or option spreads until you generate enough to move to futures. Then start with mini-Dow and go from there.
Hope that helps!
2006-10-11 10:07:49 · answer #2 · answered by Yada Yada Yada 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Dow Jones is plunging faster. People for some reason are spellbound by him. At the rate we are going, by next year, the Dow Jones will be 0.
2016-03-18 07:14:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2006-10-10 05:32:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋