can someone tell me what would be a good market to trade in early morning hours. i work fulltime and would like to find something to trade between hours 5:00 - 7:00 am.cst. i currently trade es but not much volume in early hours. not sure if i need to stick with futures or look at forex?

dirtybird 

can someone tell me what would be a good market to trade in early morning hours. i work fulltime and would like to find something to trade between hours 5:00 - 7:00 am.cst. i currently trade es but not much volume in early hours. not sure if i need to stick with futures or look at forex?

5:00 AM to 7:00 CST would be

12:00 PM to 2:00 PM CET (Frankfurt, Paris)
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM GMT (London)

To be honest, this is not a good time to trade. Volatility picks up in Europe around 2:00 AM CST, so if you want to benefit from that volatility, you have to get up earlier. It will then slow down around 4:00 AM CST.

6:00 AM CST is a typical reversal time over here. It is noon time as well, so volatility is low and everybody is waiting for some news from the US. Sometimes you can catch a last piece from the morning trend, but it ain't no fun trading during this time.

You are paying the same commissions for trading but you only get a fraction of the volatility that you will get in the morning or later, when the US session has started. If at all, you would need to look at highly volatile instruments such as CL or FDAX during this period.

Fat Tails and me are in the same time zone, so we enjoy London and NY sessions, 'cos it our day-time; what a privilege.

Lolu

Hi,
I had the very same problem - asked the very same question and did the same thing and found the same thing - just as these gentlemen here have said, this time frame is not the best.
This site DTI Trading Education | DTI - THE DIVERSIFIED TRADING INSTITUTE | Futures, Options & Equities Trading School. has a specialty of teaching people to trade the DAX and other markets in the early morning hours that fit what you are asking about. They are good people. I read the book they recommend and it is good. I never sprang for the tuition to learn their methodology for early morning trading.
John

Just not a good time at all.

If you can stay for another 1 and a half you would get the opening hours of the bonds. Or a couple of hour earlier and you can trade Europe.

if your up around 3-4 est SB usually sets direction and is best time to get in....check it out

Fat Tails 

5:00 AM to 7:00 CST would be 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM CET (Frankfurt, Paris) 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM GMT (London) To be honest, this is not a good time to trade. Volatility picks up in Europe around 2:00 AM CST, so if you want to benefit from that volatility, you have to get up earlier. It will then slow down around 4:00 AM CST. 6:00 AM CST is a typical reversal time over here. It is noon time as well, so volatility is low and everybody is waiting for some news from the US. Sometimes you can catch a last piece from the morning trend, but it ain't no fun trading during this time. You are paying the same commissions for trading but you only get a fraction of the volatility that you will get in the morning or later, when the US session has started. If at all, you would need to look at highly volatile instruments such as CL or FDAX during this period.

Thanks for your post. I had figured out the times to trade and your posts confirmed it for me.