day-trading-mnq-mgc

name	Day Trading — MNQ & MGC
description	Optional-pack skill for professional intraday trading strategies for Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) and Micro Gold (MGC) futures. Keep this skill discoverable for teams that still need it, but prefer non-core usage unless explicitly required. Use whenever an agent needs to analyze charts, generate trade signals, manage risk, execute trades, monitor news catalysts, or journal trade results.
emoji	📈
version	1.0.1
status	optional-pack
deprecation	Marked optional-pack / deprecated from core catalog. Do not hard-delete. Final removal requires telemetry review over one full quarterly cycle with confirmed low or zero usage.

Optional Pack Notice This skill has been conservatively deprecated from the core catalog and is now treated as an optional pack. It remains fully intact for compatibility and discoverability.

Removal gate: any future hard removal must wait until usage telemetry has been reviewed across one full quarterly cycle and shows sustained minimal usage.

Day Trading Skill — MNQ & MGC Futures

⚠️ HARD LIMITS — NEVER VIOLATE

MAX DAILY LOSS:      -$550.00  (STOP ALL TRADING immediately if hit)
MNQ MAX CONTRACTS:    5        (never exceed 5 contracts per trade)
MGC MAX CONTRACTS:    2        (never exceed 2 contracts per trade)
INSTRUMENTS:          MNQ and MGC ONLY
STYLE:                Intraday only — no overnight holds

P&L Math:

• MNQ: 1 tick = $0.50 | 1 point = $2.00 | 1 contract × 10 pts = $20.00
• MGC: 1 tick = $0.10 | 1 point = $1.00 | 1 contract × 10 pts = $10.00

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SESSION WINDOWS (Eastern Time)

Window	Name	Quality
09:30–11:00 ET	NY Open / Prime	⭐⭐⭐ BEST
08:30–09:30 ET	Pre-market catalyst	⭐⭐ if news
11:00–13:00 ET	Mid-day chop	⚠️ Avoid or size down
13:00–15:30 ET	Afternoon trend	⭐⭐
15:30–16:00 ET	Close rip/fade	⭐⭐ Scalp only

Never trade during: NFP, FOMC, CPI release (first 5 min). Wait for dust to settle.

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STRATEGY 1 — Opening Range Breakout (ORB)

Best for: MNQ at NY open (09:30–10:00). High-probability institutional staple.

Rules:

1. Mark the 09:30–09:45 candle high and low (Opening Range)
2. Wait for a clean breakout candle closing outside the range
3. Enter on the retest of the breakout level (preferred) or on close
4. Stop: other side of Opening Range + 2 ticks buffer
5. Target 1: 1:1 R/R → move stop to breakeven
6. Target 2: 2:1 R/R → trail remainder

Filters (need at least 2):

• Pre-market trend aligns with breakout direction
• SPY/QQQ gap direction matches
• Breakout candle volume > prior 3 candle average
• News catalyst supports direction

Invalidation:

• Price breaks out then returns inside range → exit immediately
• Choppy back-and-forth inside range → skip entirely

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STRATEGY 2 — VWAP Mean Reversion

Best for: Both MNQ and MGC mid-morning (10:00–11:30). Range-bound conditions.

Rules:

1. Price must be >8 pts from VWAP on MNQ or >$3 from VWAP on MGC — extended
2. Look for a reversal candle (doji, engulfing, pin bar) pointing back toward VWAP
3. Enter on confirmation (next candle moves toward VWAP)
4. Stop: 3 pts beyond the reversal candle extreme
5. Target: VWAP level (partial), then VWAP ±5 pts (full)

Filters:

• Market is NOT in a strong directional trend
• RSI below 35 for long reversal, above 65 for short reversal
• No major news in next 30 min

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STRATEGY 3 — Momentum / News Catalyst

Best for: Both instruments when macro news drops.

Trigger Events:

• Fed speak / FOMC → NQ sensitivity HIGH
• CPI/PPI/PCE data → NQ & Gold move
• NFP, ISM, Jobless Claims → moderate NQ
• Geopolitical events → Gold (MGC) primary mover
• Big tech earnings (MSFT, AAPL, NVDA, META, AMZN, GOOGL) → NQ direct

Rules:

1. Pre-news: Note nearest S/R level. Do NOT enter before the print.
2. Post-news: Wait for the initial spike candle to CLOSE
3. Enter on pullback to 9 EMA or nearest key level
4. Stop: low of spike candle (long) or high (short) + 2 ticks
5. Target: size of spike candle × 1.5 (measured move)

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STRATEGY 4 — Key Level Bounce / Break

Best for: All sessions. Institutional price action.

Key Levels:

• Prior day high/low — strongest
• Prior week high/low — very strong
• Round numbers (MNQ: every 50 pts; MGC: every $10)
• Overnight (globex) high/low
• Gap fill levels

Long Setup:

1. Price approaches support → momentum slows (smaller candles, RSI flattening)
2. Reversal candle (hammer, doji, bullish engulfing)
3. Enter on next candle open or breakout of reversal high
4. Stop: 3–5 pts below support
5. Target: next resistance level

Breakout (not bounce):

• Wait for 2 consecutive closes beyond level
• Enter on first pullback to broken level (now flipped support/resistance)

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CHART ANALYSIS OUTPUT FORMAT

INSTRUMENT: [MNQ/MGC] | TIMEFRAME: [1m/5m/15m] | TIME: [HH:MM ET]
CURRENT PRICE: [price]
TREND: [Bullish/Bearish/Neutral] — [reason]
VWAP: [above/below/at] | RSI: [value] → [overbought/oversold/neutral]

KEY LEVELS:
  Resistance 1: [price] — [source]
  Resistance 2: [price] — [source]
  Support 1: [price] — [source]
  Support 2: [price] — [source]

ACTIVE SETUP: [Strategy or "No setup — wait"]
  Direction: [Long/Short]
  Entry zone: [price range]
  Stop: [price] (-$[risk/contract])
  Target 1: [price] (+$[per contract])
  Target 2: [price] (+$[per contract])
  Confidence: [Low/Medium/High]

INVALIDATION: [What cancels this setup]
NOTES: [Gaps, news, volume anomalies]

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SIGNAL FORMAT (Analyst → Risk Manager)

{
  "signal_id": "sig_YYYYMMDD_NNN",
  "timestamp": "HH:MM ET",
  "instrument": "MNQ",
  "direction": "long",
  "strategy": "ORB",
  "contracts": 2,
  "entry_price": 21450.00,
  "stop_price": 21440.00,
  "target_1": 21460.00,
  "target_2": 21470.00,
  "risk_per_contract": 20.00,
  "total_risk": 40.00,
  "confidence": "high",
  "catalyst": "ORB breakout above 21445 with volume",
  "daily_pnl_so_far" 
   

Risk Manager APPROVES if ALL:

• total_risk ≤ $150
• daily_pnl_so_far > -$450
• daily_limit_remaining > total_risk × 2
• confidence is "medium" or "high"
• no HIGH IMPACT news in next 30 min

Risk Manager REJECTS if ANY fail.

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EXECUTION PROTOCOL (TopstepX Browser)

1. browser_snapshot → confirm instrument (MNQ or MGC) and account type (Practice/Live)
2. Set Qty field → enter contract count (max 5 MNQ / 2 MGC)
3. Click Buy MKT (long) or Sell MKT (short)
4. Immediately set Stop Loss (enter actual price, not distance)
5. Set Take Profit (Target 1 first)
6. browser_snapshot → confirm position shows in panel

Closing:

• Click Close or Flatten in positions panel
• browser_snapshot → confirm position = 0

NEVER enter without qty confirmed. NEVER leave a trade without a stop.

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DAILY DRAWDOWN PROTOCOL

Cumulative Loss	Action
-$200	Reduce contract size by half
-$350	Stop trading for 30 min. Reassess.
-$450	Maximum 1 more trade. Minimum size only.
-$550	STOP. Close everything. Done for the day.

Trade Rules:

1. Never widen a stop — only tighten
2. Move stop to breakeven after Target 1 hit
3. 10-min cooldown after any stop-out (no revenge trading)
4. No FOMO entries — missed setup = wait for next
5. Scale out: 50–75% at Target 1, trail rest to Target 2

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NEWS MONITORING PROTOCOL

Monitor every 5 min:

• https://www.reuters.com/markets/
• https://finance.yahoo.com/
• https://www.marketwatch.com/markets

🔴 HIGH IMPACT → pause all trading:

• Fed rate decision or unexpected Fed speak
• CPI, PCE, PPI release
• NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls)
• Geopolitical escalation (war, sanctions, oil shock)

🟡 MEDIUM IMPACT → tighten stops, reduce size:

• ISM, PMI, Jobless Claims
• Big tech earnings (AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, META, GOOGL, AMZN)

NQ Correlations:

Trigger	NQ	Gold
Fed hawkish	DOWN	UP
Fed dovish	UP	DOWN
CPI hotter than expected	DOWN	UP
CPI cooler than expected	UP	DOWN
Tech earnings beat	UP	neutral
Geopolitical fear	DOWN	UP
USD strengthens	DOWN	DOWN

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TRADE JOURNAL FORMAT

Save to: trade-journal/YYYY-MM-DD.md in team workspace

## Trade #[N] — [HH:MM ET]
- Instrument: MNQ/MGC | Direction: Long/Short | Contracts: N
- Entry: [price] | Stop: [price] | Target: [price]
- Strategy: [name] | Catalyst: [reason]
- Exit: [price] at [HH:MM ET]
- Result: +/- $[amount] ([pts] pts)
- Running Daily P&L: $[cumulative]
- Notes: [what worked / what to improve]

EOD Summary:

Total trades: N | Winners: N | Losers: N | Win rate: X%
Gross P&L: $X | Max drawdown: $X
Rules followed: Y/N | Tomorrow key levels: [list]