Is It Possible to Trade ES with Lower Lot Sizes? Such As Micro

[adaseb 10]

Hello

 

Just wondering if its possible to trade ES with smaller lots sizes such as micro or mini? For example in forex with certain brokers you can trade 0.01 lots, etc.

 

Was wondering if something similar is available for the ES?

 

$12.50 is too high for a beginner.

[sweet n´sour 10]

In fact you can do this with an european based CFD account. I think you can trade 1€ per ES point CFD contracts.

 

But be aware that you are trading against the house, because you are trading not the real future contracts, but a broker made substitute (the CFD).

 

You trade with fixed spreads (and most of the time without commissions) just as in Forex, but the broker can change the spread at certain times of special volatilty and / or day time.

 

So for swing trading this may be suitable, but for daytrading / scalping it is not very useful.

 

 

On top of that you have to pay interest to the broker for overnight holding of positions. So for longer term swings this is also not very good. :doh:

[Tams 20]

Hello

 

Just wondering if its possible to trade ES with smaller lots sizes such as micro or mini? For example in forex with certain brokers you can trade 0.01 lots, etc.

 

Was wondering if something similar is available for the ES?

 

$12.50 is too high for a beginner.

 

you can always trade YM.

[JEHs 10]

you can always trade YM.

 

Or NQ...I just wish the cost of commissions was proportionate rather than, for the most part, constant....

[BlowFish 10]

SPY would probably do you an exchange traded fund that tracks the S&P 500.

[JEHs 10]

SPY would probably do you an exchange traded fund that tracks the S&P 500.

Problem is, if you account is too small for ES, you won't be able to day trade the SPY either. You need 25K for that.

[uexkuell 10]

Don't know if canadian regulations allow that.

 

If they do you could trade european ETFs like:

ETF | db x-trackers DAX ETF | DBX1DA | LU0274211480

 

and some others.

 

They track DAX and other indices.

DAX is tracking ES / YM ....

 

Negative:

- High commissions (something like 8€ per roundturn, perhaps cheaper possible)

- Trading times only 03:00 am - 11:30 am EST

 

Positive (especially if you compare to CFDs):

- No interest being paid

- Exchange traded (not trading against the broker)

- Can trade them through IB

[BlowFish 10]

Problem is, if you account is too small for ES, you won't be able to day trade the SPY either. You need 25K for that.

 

Yes, I forgot about the daft pattern day trader rules. Though strictly speaking he did not mention margin but you are quite right.

Edited October 12, 2010 by BlowFish

[JEHs 10]

Yes, I forgot about the daft pattern day trader rules. Though strictly speaking he did not mention margin but you are quite right.

 

On the other hand, he didn't mention what a "small" account was either. Maybe he has 30k and wants to trade ES off daily charts...then the draw downs would be hard to swallow and SPY would be the perfect choice. I guess it's all a matter of perspective...

It's enough to make ones head hurt...

[Stanton 10]

If you're looking for extremely low risk while learning trading why don't you just open a practice account?

[cuttshot 11]

adaseb,

 

In my opinion there are better options out there for beginners. The ES can be a little tricky to trade initially. When it comes to the index futures I personally rank then in this order TF, NQ, YM, ES. The TF has nice volatility and can be a very profitable market to trade. It does move fast and at $10/tick you need to make sure you have an account size to handle the risk.

 

The NQ is a good market for smaller traders as it is only $5/tick. While the YM is also $5/tick the NQ has better movement in my experience. Take a look at these two before you jump into the ES.

[Tiobingo 10]

Cuttshot makes good points. The ES is an advanced market and I believe you can do better elsewhere. What do you do when you hit your target and you don't get filled, which happens all the time on the ES. Then your trade backs off a few ticks. Now what? The 12.50 tick is expensive especially when you start factoring in slippage and the cost of having to market out like in the example above. Trading is hard enough to then have to put up with those additional challenges. There's no need to. I'd much rather trade the Russell emini, but then, that's what makes a market. Finally, anyone who isn't capitalized properly shouldn't trade any emini in my view. Better off starting with small forex positions. Even the best systems lose a few in a row and if you're undercapitalized, you'll be dead and your winning system will not do you any good at all.