| 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
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.
STRATEGY 1 — Opening Range Breakout (ORB)
Best for: MNQ at NY open (09:30–10:00). High-probability institutional staple.
Rules:
- Mark the 09:30–09:45 candle high and low (Opening Range)
- Wait for a clean breakout candle closing outside the range
- Enter on the retest of the breakout level (preferred) or on close
- Stop: other side of Opening Range + 2 ticks buffer
- Target 1: 1:1 R/R → move stop to breakeven
- 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
STRATEGY 2 — VWAP Mean Reversion
Best for: Both MNQ and MGC mid-morning (10:00–11:30). Range-bound conditions.
Rules:
- Price must be >8 pts from VWAP on MNQ or >$3 from VWAP on MGC — extended
- Look for a reversal candle (doji, engulfing, pin bar) pointing back toward VWAP
- Enter on confirmation (next candle moves toward VWAP)
- Stop: 3 pts beyond the reversal candle extreme
- 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
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:
- Pre-news: Note nearest S/R level. Do NOT enter before the print.
- Post-news: Wait for the initial spike candle to CLOSE
- Enter on pullback to 9 EMA or nearest key level
- Stop: low of spike candle (long) or high (short) + 2 ticks
- Target: size of spike candle × 1.5 (measured move)
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 $10)
- Overnight (globex) high/low
- Gap fill levels
Long Setup:
- Price approaches support → momentum slows (smaller candles, RSI flattening)
- Reversal candle (hammer, doji, bullish engulfing)
- Enter on next candle open or breakout of reversal high
- Stop: 3–5 pts below support
- Target: next resistance level
Breakout (not bounce):
- Wait for 2 consecutive closes beyond level
- Enter on first pullback to broken level (now flipped support/resistance)
CHART ANALYSIS OUTPUT FORMAT
INSTRUMENT: [MNQ/MGC] | TIMEFRAME: [1m/5m/15m] | TIME: [HH:MM ET]
CURRENT PRICE: [price]
TREND: [Bullish/Bearish/Neutral] — [reason]
VWAP: [above/below/at] | RSI: [value] → [overbought/oversold/neutral]
KEY LEVELS:
Resistance 1: [price] — [source]
Resistance 2: [price] — [source]
Support 1: [price] — [source]
Support 2: [price] — [source]
ACTIVE SETUP: [Strategy or "No setup — wait"]
Direction: [Long/Short]
Entry zone: [price range]
Stop: [price] (-$[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]
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.
EXECUTION PROTOCOL (TopstepX Browser)
browser_snapshot → confirm instrument (MNQ or MGC) and account type (Practice/Live)- Set Qty field → enter contract count (max 5 MNQ / 2 MGC)
- Click Buy MKT (long) or Sell MKT (short)
- Immediately set Stop Loss (enter actual price, not distance)
- Set Take Profit (Target 1 first)
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.
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:
- Never widen a stop — only tighten
- Move stop to breakeven after Target 1 hit
- 10-min cooldown after any stop-out (no revenge trading)
- No FOMO entries — missed setup = wait for next
- Scale out: 50–75% at Target 1, trail rest to Target 2
NEWS MONITORING PROTOCOL
Monitor every 5 min:
🔴 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 |
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]
