It's very interesting I'm a index day trader, curious what others think the Dow Futures suit my risk template better but nasdaq seems the most tradeable

If you don't bet, you can't win.

To me, Nasdaq seems the most volatile.

I don't think that's necessarily the same thing as the most "tradable," though, is it? So the answer probably depends on what sort of trading you do? (That's probably true of thousands of questions, though, so it isn't saying much?).

I'm on my way (I hope!) toward become an index daytrader, so it's a question that interests me a lot, too.

I'm barely familiar with the Dow, which you mentioned. The ones I watch are the S&P, the Nasdaq and the Dax (I'm in Europe). I know they are all a bit related, but the last two seem terribly wild, difficult and unpredictable to me. The S&P looks better behaved, whatever that means. I don't really know what it means, though, but it's subjective anyway?

Hoping eventually to daytrade the S&P, here. ES, via MES demo and MES live.

ES Jedi 

It's very interesting I'm a index day trader, curious what others think the Dow Futures suit my risk template better but nasdaq seems the most tradeable If you don't bet, you can't win.

You trade what give you the best results.

mariafp 

The ones I watch are the S&P, the Nasdaq and the Dax (I'm in Europe). I know they are all a bit related, but the last two seem terribly wild, difficult and unpredictable to me. The S&P looks better behaved, whatever that means. I don't really know what it means, though, but it's subjective anyway?

NQ and FDAX are thin markets (less contracts on the bid/ask) and therefore more volatile. ES is a thick market, it takes more contracts to move, is slower / less volatile and therefore looks better behaved according to some.

Thanks for the responses I am making the transition to the Nasdaq from Dow as I like the volatility

If you don't bet, you can't win.

First I'll mention scalping. MYM/YM is not great for scalping, IMHO. MNQ and NQ have more bang for the buck in terms of very short moves, so if I'm taking a scalp it's often MNQ or NQ. YM averages about 1.5x to 2x the range of NQ but NQ is 4x the value per point, so it winds up being about 1.5x to 2x the $ per point move. So, the spread and cost to trade YM often does not justify scalping if the YM target is only 10-15 points.

Zooming out a bit from scalping... When you take a trade, you should have a reason for doing so. Some edge you have should be present. If that edge is in YM, take it. If it's in NQ, take it. In the past I heavily traded ES and it's where the majority of my trades still are, but I don't like to pigeonhole myself any longer. The same could be said for other contracts, though when you branch out into the ag products and the like, it's a bit of a different game. The learning curve is very different going from NQ to CL than from NQ to ZW, for example.

I'll give two very recent examples of trades in each that illustrate my point.

Last week on Wednesday (March 13 2024) I took a YM long on a morning dip and held it for 120 points, because I had analyzed and planned to take it. Briefly, it's because Monday had found major support just above the prior week's low, Tuesday had bumped up against the resistance, and Wednesday pre-cash action seemed poised to attempt the breakout. The bonus was that NQ was weak that morning, while money seemed to be flowing into DJIA stocks. So, I took the buy.

On Friday (March 15 2024) equities opened lower on opex shenanigans, and NQ was trading below Thursday's low. YM was in Thursday's range. After a morning bounce, I had a clear short trade setup when NQ took out the morning opening price, tagged its VWAP, could not take out the morning high, and then traded back below the VWAP and the open. The best part was that the risk was very defined - above the morning high, and I was out of the short. I could have also shorted YM or ES, but the trade setup was just clear in NQ.

In the YM long example, someone else may have spotted the NQ weakness and shorted it, if that was their plan and setup. In the second example, an ES short may have been more clear for some people. The point is, I took a trade when I saw that I had some edge in doing so. It does not have to be one or the other. If you have an edge, take the trade.