QQQ is still stuck in the box the great flush of November left behind, and in Tuesday’s video I said day trading beats a 30 to 45 day swing until that box breaks. Monday morning’s MNQ futures trade is what that looks like in practice. My risk went to breakeven inside seven minutes, I paid myself twice into strength, and I trailed the last piece for 516 points. Let’s take a deeper look at the MNQ futures trade:
The MNQ Futures Trade Started With a 200 Point Stop
At 8:28 a.m. CT on Monday, November 9th, two minutes before the cash open, I bought /MNQ at $27,359. Two minutes later the initial stop exit order went out to the room at $27,159. That is 200 points of risk, and that is the number I size the trade off of.
By 8:35 a.m. CT the trade was already working, so I moved the stop up to breakeven at $27,359. From that point on, the worst case on the MNQ futures trade was a scratch.
Two Profit Takes Inside 14 Minutes
At 8:37 a.m. CT I took profit on the first piece at $27,550, up 191 points. At 8:42 a.m. CT the second piece came off at $27,600.25, up 241.25 points. Both exits landed within 14 minutes of the entry.
Scaling out locks in the win early and leaves the last piece running with no pressure on it. At 8:43 a.m. CT I posted the working exit for that final piece, a stop at $27,430, already 71 points in the green.
Trailing the Last Piece of the MNQ Futures Trade
From there the only job was moving the stop. I raised it to $27,600 at 8:54 a.m. CT, $27,650 at 8:58, $27,700 at 9:13, $27,800 at 9:21 and $27,875 at 10:01. Every move went out to the room as I made it.
I don’t try to call the top on a runner. Price takes out the stop, and that is the exit. At 10:22 a.m. CT it did, at $27,875, which put the last piece out 516 points above my entry almost two hours after I got in.
Measured against 200 points of initial risk, that final piece paid 2.58 times what I had on the line. The first piece cleared just under 1 to 1, and the second cleared 1.2 to 1.
/MNQ, 5min Chart 11.09.26
Tuesday’s Follow Up Was a Smaller Win
Not every session hands you a ripper. On Tuesday, November 10th, at 12:52 p.m. CT, I bought /MNQ at $27,657.75 with a stop at $27,600, which is 57.75 points of risk. My trailing stop hit at 2:03 p.m. CT at $27,715, and I was out for +57 points.
Same entry discipline, same trailing exit, a much smaller result. That is day trading inside a box. Some sessions the range gives you 516 points on a runner, some sessions it gives you 57, and the process does not change between them.
/MNQ, 5 min Chart 11.10.26
QQQ Climbed Back Above the 200 SMA on Wednesday
By midday Wednesday, November 11th, my Big 3 Scorecard Total Score flipped to neutral bullish, the first neutral bullish reading of the month. QQQ climbed back above its daily 200 SMA, which opens a path toward the daily 21 EMA at $697. I treat that 21 EMA as potential resistance on this pop, and I want the 200 SMA holding on any dips.
Tech led the bounce. XLK, SMH and ARKK all improved sharply, while health care and staples lagged as money rotated back into tech. The QQQ Total Score still has not crossed back to a positive reading, though. If it does and it sticks, that is the first meaningful confirmation of a lasting bottom.
Why the MNQ Futures Trade Fits This Market
Until QQQ confirms a break out of the box, I keep swing size small and let the futures do the work on a day trading timeframe. The Amazon December calls I covered in Tuesday’s breakdown are still on, sized small for exactly that reason.
One rule carries over to every trade: size off the stop, not the target.
Stay Focused,
Taylor Horton
Every entry, stop move and exit on Monday’s /MNQ trade went out to my alerts members the moment I made it. Compounding Growth Mastery Alerts puts the next one in front of you as it happens. Get my alerts!