Many new traders begin their trading experience on the mini Indices, with a primary focus on the mini S&P 500, as either a scalping trader or an intra-day trader. Their daily profit target is normally between three to five points (at $50 per point). For an experience scalping trader, this could possibly be done but not for a new trader.

To understand why, we need to look at the daily movement of the mini S&P. For the month of October, the mini S&P, moved on average 19.27 points per day. Therefore, if the objective is to capture five points a day, in effect, a new trader is trying to “capture” 26% of the daily movement — quick hard for someone that is new to trading. Most days, mini S&P moved less than 20 points — making it even harder to capture the daily profit goal of five points.

 

Let’s take a look at just one of the currency futures, the Australian Dollar (AD). (The Australian Dollar has a point value of $10 per point — each price increment is considered a point.)

The AD moves on average of 142.09 points per day (the equivalent of 28.42 mini S&P points). Using the same goal of five mini S&P points per day, the new trader is only trying to capture 17 1/2 % of the daily movement.

Euro and Yen are the two that stand out, with an average daily movement of 33.22 and 31.13 (mini S&P point equivalent). EC and JY as having the most movement in the currency futures, we can also adjust our daily profit target to one that is more realistic for a new trader, who has little market experience. Since the EC and JY moves an average of more than 30 points, a more realistic expectation of capturing only 3 points per day (only 10% of the average daily movement). By changing the markets traded and setting a more realistic goal, a new trader can increase their number of profitable traders.

 

Additionally, the currency futures offer multiple openings — not just the U.S. market opening. The Asian session or the European session are often better sessions to trade for a new trader because they are, quite often, smoother and less volatile than the US market opening. However, there are also more market reports, which a trader will need to prepare for when scheduling their trading sessions. There is a new study available on the futures those who are interested in Currency Future Markets.

The new advanced studies in different markets available in www.TradersHelpDesk.com