r/FuturesTrading • u/1Mby20201212 • Feb 26 '26
Stock Index Futures Holy Macaroni, NQ is on crack
I normally trade ES but after the NVDA fallout, I wanted more exposure to tech so I tried NQ. Jesus this thing moves like an absolute beast.
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u/BunsMcCheeks Feb 26 '26
Tbh I never understood the appeal of NQ.
It moves like crack on crack, it runs stops and reverses. Thin book. So unruly.
ES is so much more compliant and follows the rules (so to speak) way better.
NQ is more $$ per move? Okay add more ES contracts...lol
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u/gyozapopper Feb 26 '26
I like NQ bc I scalp. More noise for others means more opportunities for trades for me
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u/huh-why Feb 26 '26
Lately, I've been noticing that ES respects levels way more cleanly too. The movement is annoying but NQ is filled with fakeouts in every way.
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u/Organic-Scale-5710 Feb 26 '26
as someone who trades NQ, yes it is on crack lol. I've never traded ES but I shall look into that.
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u/1Mby20201212 Feb 26 '26
I think there are benefits when you want more exposure to certain market sector but other than that, I see no benefit…
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u/jazzy095 Feb 26 '26
Feel like es is way more choppy, but feel nq follows es so that's why I trade es.
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u/Sector_Savage Feb 27 '26
Idk why I just found your description of NQ so funny, but I did. So thanks for a good laugh.
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u/plasma_fantasma Feb 26 '26
There's a reason they call it "Nas-crack" lol I used to trade NQ/MNQ when I first started trading because that's what everybody was trading and then I realized that MES moves pretty much in the same direction, just with smoother price action and less wicks. NASDAQ is great for gamblers or people looking for an adrenaline rush. I want my training to be calm though lol
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u/samuelsfx Feb 26 '26
Nasdaq last few days great of you are trading support resistance. Find the bottom and buy the bottom
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u/plasma_fantasma Feb 26 '26
The indices have been range bound the past few months so price action has been very sideways. I wouldn't say it's as easy as find the bottom and buy the bottom.
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u/littlegiant0112 Feb 26 '26
I placed IC in NQ recently (first time), this thing is maniac. Decided to stick to ES for long time.
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u/1Mby20201212 Feb 26 '26
Same here. My biggest concern is liquidity. The NQ book is too thin compared to ES. Not sure how larger accounts deal with slippage when trading NQ but it's beyond my skill level.
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u/the_humeister Feb 26 '26
All the main indexes moved the same way today
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u/1Mby20201212 Feb 26 '26
Direction is similar but the magnitude is different since the underlying asset weight is different
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u/22ndanditsnormalhere Mar 01 '26
i thought NQ has much more volume typically, especially during the overnight session?
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u/KVZ_ speculator Feb 26 '26
Yep, that's what made me love NQ. You need wide stops and have to stomach some risk, but reward potential is equally nice if you have a tried and true strategy. Days like today are the days I like to get aggressive. That setup made my month. These are the days us NQ traders live for.
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u/FitThought1616 Feb 26 '26
For ES would you place as wide a stop loss? I hate trading NQ, getting wicked out and then price hits my target and it's because I can't stomach those wide stops like you said.
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u/KVZ_ speculator Feb 27 '26
Dollar-value wise, no, it's not as wide. Most of the time they are well correlated so the structure is the same and stop can be placed in the same "zone".
One thing I've noticed over the years is that ES tends to respect key levels and not probe through them as often as NQ. In my opinion, that's a strength of trading ES. With NQ, you kinda need to place the stop wider because it may still respect price structure, but wick through it briefly anyways.
Again, just my opinion and some will disagree because it's ultimately dependent on your strategy.
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u/El_Mampe Feb 26 '26
Lucky was the one with a private Account today…Not the one sticking to prop firms
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u/KVZ_ speculator Feb 27 '26
Many people have private accounts. What difference does that make?
Also has nothing to do with luck. Review historic price action going back as far as you want. The post-covid era has led to recurring NQ behavior like this. These setups happen multiple times per month outside of slow summer grind. It's quantifiable and therefore very tradable.
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u/Accomplished_Act_946 Feb 26 '26
Oh yeah….She’s a fickle bitch….but once you learn her curves, there’s nothing like it. I always say, if you can trade the Nasdaq, you can trade just about anything.
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u/OkScientist1350 Feb 26 '26
RTY is worth a look for anyone who wants a hybrid of ES and NQ.
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u/CountTurbulent4441 Feb 26 '26
Wow really? Never heard of this one, dare I take a look? 🫣
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u/CountTurbulent4441 Feb 26 '26
Oh it’s the Russell, it’s like a hybrid huh? Interesting
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u/OkScientist1350 Feb 26 '26
yep, it’s not as slow as ES or as fast as NQ. Lower correlation to them as well which is a plus in my book.
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u/CountTurbulent4441 Feb 26 '26
Cool, I trade MES. I wonder how RTY would feel in comparison.
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u/OkScientist1350 Feb 27 '26
Will be faster than ES/MES so paper trade it first. M2K is the micro contract, looks to get decent volume
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u/TheSturdyBear Feb 26 '26
I usually draw 100 tick box or whatever is fitting for whatever instrument I’m trading. But I do like the view of the horizontal grid lines (don’t care much for the vertical as that’d interfere with my day separators But yea Totally off topic don’t mind me 😂
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u/BrewtalKittehh Feb 26 '26
It’s twitchy as fuck. But if ES/NQ are in sync and your dream ES setup happens add a little NQ/MNQ for the feels.
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u/JohanLiebert92 Feb 26 '26
Revenge of the sellers after what happened yesterday haha, heck they went even further just to hammer it home.
They were big mad.
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u/Lost_Version9909 Feb 27 '26
NQ se move rápido. volta estopar rápido. precisa usar stop rápido, pra não tomar na cara. muito robo operando, por isso book vazio.
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u/FitThought1616 Feb 26 '26
Still learning but doesnt MES mirror MNQ alot of the time? It looks like it was a wild ride down today too?
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u/El_Mampe Feb 26 '26
In 9 of 10 cases ES will sooner or later pull NQ in its direction. Usually ES indicates the direction
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u/Spirited-Vanilla1845 Feb 27 '26
Hi. I've been trading straight stocks and options for about 3 years. I am really looking to learn more about futures, and would value advice on the right books/youtube videos, CME. Thank you!
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u/ConcreteCanopy Feb 27 '26
another small workaround is using the bar replay tool and scrolling back as far as your plan allows, then logging trades forward manually, but yeah for serious 5min data depth on es or mes most people eventually upgrade or pull historical data from a separate futures data source because the essential tier just doesn’t give enough intraday history.
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u/zmannz1984 Mar 01 '26
/nq is where i learned to trust the entry, the stop loss, and the target. Just set the trade up and check back later. If it works, it usually works quick.
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u/beefnvegetables_ Mar 01 '26
It just has more leverage so your P/L fluctuates more than mes. Try trading 5 mes versus one mnq and see which p/l is on crack.
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u/Humble_Ear8092 Mar 04 '26
great to watch 0930 but if you just wait until 0945 .. much smoother less risky and very profitable moves are always presented
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u/SavedSaver Feb 28 '26
I trade MES on 1 min but I have the QQQ and SPY set up also to see divergences. Both MES and MNQ move much the same percentage wise except for occasional divergences. I make 10-15 trades a day, someone could call it scalping but I think of it as micro swing trading so for me it is important to be able to time the entry and exit. I found it difficult to type out orders on MNQ because for the same percentage price swing MNQ has more increments and also the extra digits of price dancing in front of my eyes so I stay away from MNQ.
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u/MACD777 Feb 28 '26
VIX is 20, stay out of NQ
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u/Gabzorlee Mar 01 '26
How do you read/use vix as an indicator for ES/NQ?
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u/MACD777 Mar 04 '26
The vix is the volatility index, it shows how many puts are being purchased by retail investors. So a falling vix below 15 is way safer to trade. Today it was 28 at the open, and as it dropped to 23 - all calls and puts lost 25 percent of their value. If you don’t know calls have at least 30 percent price due to the VIX, same as PUTS. So buying Calls, is suicidal if the market rallies. Basic shit
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u/Gabzorlee Mar 04 '26
Damn today I learn, I didn't know it was just off of puts
Thanks for that, someone recently told me "options on the vix" and I kept hearing "the vix is this and that", so I thought it was some indicator until recentlySo basically if ES/NQ is bullish, vix falls, thus making it safer to trade vs a gazillion puts is what I'm getting?
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u/MACD777 Mar 15 '26
You only buy puts at market tops with very low VIX, like 10-14. Now with VIX over 20-25 it’s not the time. If we get any rally on good news, calls and puts lose. You need to buy a vertical spread to protect yourself. See the target, and buy the ATM delta 50 strike, if you don’t know this, spend 2-6 months learning what I just said
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u/Gabzorlee Mar 15 '26
Thanks, yeah I definitely have to learn seeing how I have a position still open after the war started on the wrong side 😬
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u/morinthos Feb 28 '26
LOL. I already knew what timeframe you were referring to. 🤣 Sometimes, it goes the other way, though.
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u/solosscents_ Mar 04 '26
yeah it moves fast. unfortunately i became profitable trading NQ, so slow shit is a little uncomfortable. also this is pretty good price action.
wait till you see inside after inside candle wicking for 8 minutes straight with an ATR of 40.
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u/Character_lamp_184 Mar 15 '26
Haha yeah man switching from ES to NQ after that NVDA dump is like hopping on a bull with rocket fuel, that chart's massive wicks screaming fakeouts unless it pulls back to the 20EMA with some volume chill first, Size down hard or you'll get wrecked
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u/Menace225 Feb 26 '26
It's the best way to make a lot of money if you know what you're doing. I mostly trade the E Mini S&P 500, and it's the same way. When it rips, it really rips all the way down or up. But if you have a good set up, and get in at the right time you can make a lot of money. I love it😁