Trading Micro E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Futures Using TICKQ

13 dic 2021

This article is the Opinion of Optimus Futures.

This week’s idea combines the CME Group Micro E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Futures and the Nasdaq Tick chart. We want to use the tick chart to find points of exhaustion at support levels to look for a bullish reversal.

Synopsis: Tick charts are available for various indexes as well as the NYSE. These measure the net up versus down ticks for a given set of data.

We’re looking for points where the Nasdaq 100 is in a generally bullish trend. We then use support levels as our entry points and the tick chart to gauge our timing.

This trade looks for bullish reversals and works best for intraday traders.

Idea: Use the Nasdaq Tick Chart to time long entries into the Micro E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Futures off a support level.

As we noted earlier, the tick chart measures the net up versus down ticks for the entire Nasdaq Composite Index which encompasses 2,500 stocks.

Thankfully, it trades very closely to the Nasdaq 100 Index, so we can use it as a timing mechanism for our trade.

We want to look for trades that not within 30-60 minutes of the opening of closing bell. Otherwise, we can get errant signals.

Now, we start with extremes in the tick chart where the ticks go ideally to -800 or lower.

Next, we identify support levels using prior swing points, Fibonacci retracements, or other methods. The key ingredient here is that we want the support levels to be at an extreme low on the chart rather than in the middle of a range.

The chart below illustrates how this works.


Past performance is not indicative of future results.

You’ll notice how the first time the Nasdaq Composite Tick chart hit a low it came in the middle of the range. So we want to pass on that opportunity.

It wasn’t until we saw the confluence of a lower tick reading for the day and on the MNQ that we found our trade setup.

That’s the point where we can go long using a stop of 20-40 points. (The placement of contingent order such as a “stop-loss” or “stop-limit” order, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders

In this case, the trade yielded nearly 80 points before it was over.

Now, there is one last point we want to make.

You want to find these trades on days where the market is not selling off on heavy volume.

Our goal here is to find a pullback entry point amongst a larger upward trend that has been in place for several days.

The strategy above is part of our post on Micro Nasdaq Futures | Everything You Need to Trade Big Tech. Read the full article here.

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There is a substantial risk of loss in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Use your own discretion whether leveraged products such as futures are appropriate to your financial situation.