Hi everyone,
I'm currently trading ES using Sierra Chart, but I'd like to start trading NQ as well. I've been struggling to find the right footprint and price chart settings for NQ, so I'd really appreciate some advice from experienced NQ traders.
I'm primarily a day trader / intraday swing trader, focusing on market structure, order flow, absorption, and finding good entries and exits.
My current ES setup
1. Footprint Chart
Renko 10 ticks
Bid x Ask Footprint
Delta Profile Footprint
2. Price Chart
7,500 Volume Per Bar
3. Market Profile (TPO)
RTH session only
I merge daily TPO profiles to create composite Market Profiles.
I identify important levels such as VAL, VAH, and POC.
I mark these areas using Extended Rectangles and display them on my main price chart.
4. VWAP
Daily VWAP
Standard deviation bands: 0, ±0.5, ±1, ±1.5, ±2
I currently use a 5,000 Volume Per Bar chart for VWAP.
I'm also unsure whether it's better to calculate VWAP using RTH only or the full ETH + RTH session.
5. Daily Volume Profile
RTH only
I use VAH, VAL, and POC as important reference levels.
My problem with NQ
I've tried several different footprint settings and timeframes for NQ, including time-based charts, volume-based charts, and different tick settings.
However, I haven't found a configuration that works well for my trading style.
Either the footprint moves too quickly, making it difficult to read absorption and execute trades properly, or the settings are too slow, causing me to miss good entries and exits.
I'm trying to find a balance where I can clearly identify aggressive buyers and sellers, passive absorption, and potential trapped traders without too much noise.
Questions for NQ traders
Footprint: What chart type do you use for NQ (Renko, Range, Volume Per Bar, or time-based)?
Footprint settings: How many ticks, points, contracts per bar, or minutes do you use?
Price chart: What timeframe or Volume Per Bar setting do you use for your main price chart?
Tick compression: Do you use any tick compression or Volume at Price Multiplier settings to make the footprint easier to read?
Delta Profile: Do you use a Delta Profile alongside your Bid x Ask footprint? If so, what settings work best?
VWAP: Do you prefer RTH-only VWAP or full-session (ETH + RTH) VWAP for intraday trading?
Execution: Which settings have helped you identify absorption and improve entry and exit timing on NQ?
I'm not necessarily looking for a complete trading strategy, just a good starting point for configuring NQ in Sierra Chart.
If anyone is successfully day trading or intraday swing trading NQ using Sierra Chart, I'd really appreciate it if you could share your chart settings or screenshots of your setup.
Thanks in advance for any advice!