What to Trade After Work?

[yuvalw 10]

Hi,

 

I'm looking for a market I can trade after work (meaning after 5PM EST), the ES is not liquid enough during those hours and I thought trying something from Asia, I just don't know what...

I'm looking for a liquid market and something I can trade as US resident.

Besides, any special regulations I should be aware of?

 

Thx,

Yuval.

[wjrusnak 10]

I found that mini crude (QM) and the euro future (6E) can be hit or miss as far as liquidity, but those are the two that I watch after hours.

[MidKnight 12]

In Asia, the Kospi 200 is liquid and so are the Osaka Nikkei products. The Nikkei products are a little more liquid than the K200. See you there!

[Tams 20]

HSI... action guaranteed.

 

 

.

[brownsfan019 17]

What kind of liquidity do you need in order to trade?

[Tams 20]

  brownsfan019 said:

What kind of liquidity do you need in order to trade?

 

 

on the 1 min chart I posted, it is showing an average volume of 362 per bar.

it works out to ~6 contracts per second.

that's a far cry from ES... LOL.

 

I guess as long as you don't trade more that 3 contracts at a shot, you are ok.

 

 

p.s. it is a big contract anyway... you don't want to go too deep into it.

[yuvalw 10]

Thx all, I am still learning and need an active/moving market, I am not trading big...

 

Ths Nikkei and HSI looks good, I see that I can trade it with IB, how all the currency conversion is done?

Edited May 12, 2009 by yuvalw

[yuvalw 10]

I look at the trading hours of the HSI and do I see a lunch break???? (9:45 am - 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm - 4:15 pm)

[Tams 20]

  yuvalw said:

I look at the trading hours of the HSI and do I see a lunch break???? (9:45 am - 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm - 4:15 pm)

 

 

yes, those guys know how to live a good life.

 

;-)

 

 

 

p.s. this is not the only exchange that take lunch break.

I can't name them off hand, but I know there are a few around the World that do the same.

[brownsfan019 17]

  Tams said:

on the 1 min chart I posted, it is showing an average volume of 362 per bar.

it works out to ~6 contracts per second.

that's a far cry from ES... LOL.

 

I guess as long as you don't trade more that 3 contracts at a shot, you are ok.

 

 

p.s. it is a big contract anyway... you don't want to go too deep into it.

 

Question directed to OP.

[Tams 20]

I won't recommend anybody to just jump in and trade the HSI...

 

it is a wild animal.

[BlowFish 10]

Whats good to trade between the US close and the Asian open? I am usually just about asleep round the time Asia opens but something to trade for a couple of hours after the US closes would be good. Seems like this is the deadest period for currencies too.

[MidKnight 12]

  yuvalw said:

I look at the trading hours of the HSI and do I see a lunch break???? (9:45 am - 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm - 4:15 pm)

 

That is not uncommon for Asian markets. The Kospi remains open through lunch...

[yuvalw 10]

Thx,

 

Those who trade with IB, how the currency conversion is done? Do I need to have the foreign currency in advance in my account?

[Tams 20]

with IB, when you open your account, you have to choose a base currency. It can be any currency. It does not have to be the currency of your residence.

 

when you carry out a non-base currency transaction, IB would make a "loan" to you, in the foreign currency, to carry out the transaction.

 

At the end of the day, you then press a button to close out all non-base currency positions.

 

If you made money, the foreign currency will be converted to your base currency and deposit into your account.

 

If you lose money, IB would take money out of your base-currency account and convert it to the foreign currency to settle the loss.

 

If you don't close out the non-base currency position, if you owe money, it will show up as a "loan". You will pay margin interest accordingly.

If you have profit, then it will simply show up as a foreign currency position.

[sep34 10]

Hang Seng is a great market too bad its hours don't work for me....not willing to trade at night after finishing with the US markets, however if its hours were compatible for me HSI would be my main trading instrument.

 

If your are new to trading...and want to jump into HSI make sure you understand how volatile it is and keep a protective stop on the book.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Soultrader

[enochbenjamin 10]

You might want to try currencies during the Asian session, but stick with pairs that include JPY. AUD, NZD.

[dandxg 10]

  Tams said:

HSI... action guaranteed.

 

 

.

 

 

Hi Tams. I was wondering if you could verify the the volume reporting on HSI appears correct? I have often wanted to try the market, but wasn't sure about the correct reporting of volume and such. For example, I am aware they have 2 closings I believe, trades rougly start time 7PM ET I believe? Do they have dark pools of liquidity that affect the ability to use PV?

[MidKnight 12]

You guys that are interested in HSI might also want to consider the MHI (the mini HSI). With the ranges that HSI has been seeing since last year, MHI has become a very viable alternative.

[Tams 20]

HSI is thin

 

MHI is even thinner

 

I have no knowledge of dark pools

[TheDude 10]

Id look at the inside bid/offer size and market depth when deciding if a market has enough liquidity.

 

Thus, ES after RTH will, I guarantee, have enough liquidity for any retail trader at any time.

 

I know of very few retail traders (ie those who trade 'after work', implying this isnt their main source of income) who trade more than a 50 lot in ES. In fact, we all know, they dont exist.

 

Stop trading is my advise for the OP and most who have responded to this thread. If you dont know basics like what liquidity is, you have no business putting orders in any market.

 

Harsh but true.

[wrbtrader 10]

Although the OP (thread starter) question about what to trade based upon liquidity after 5pm est is almost 2 years old...there's also the issue of your trade strategy being used besides liquidity. I'm assuming you're on eastern standard time and most likely want to be in bed by midnight.

 

For example, if your trade strategy is based upon Japanese Candlestick patterns...you will not see too many of these patterns after 5pm est in many trading instruments (e.g. Emini ES) even if it's one of the most liquid trading instruments in the world.

 

Simply, whatever trade strategy you're using...backtest it on all the available trading instruments after 5pm est to see which trading instrument is more suited for that particular trading instrument.

 

However, if liquidity is your only concern, you should take a look at the liquidity charts @ Futures Liquidity - January 2011 as a starting point but that list changes every month because liquidity changes.

 

Here's my list of trading instruments to trade between 5pm est - 12midnight est based upon volatility, swing points and directional price movements (list below not in any particular order).

 

• Light Crude Oil CL futures
  
• Gold GC futures
  
• Hang Seng HSI futures
  
• S&P CNX Nifty futures
  
• Eurofx 6E futures
  
• EurUsd Forex
  
• Emini ES futures * only during key market events
  

 

In contrast, if you go to bed early and wake up early to squeeze in a few hours of trading before work...I would add to the above list Brent Oil BRN futures, Eurex DAX futures, Eurex BUND futures, Kospi futures and many other Forex Currencies based upon the 3 requirements I've listed above.

Edited January 13, 2011 by wrbtrader