The indices can be brutal Mark, that's because they're usually overrun with wannabe traders without any trading plan. The "shoot from the hip" mentality runs throughout the mini's. Have you ever bothered comparing a mini chart with the big contract, the one's the real big money players trade? Without exception you will see overruns in the mini's as traders get late cues from the big un's.

The other problem with the index markets, at least from a small spec position trader's point of view, is that they trade 24 hours. When/if I'm trading a mini I'll run it the same hours as the day session of the big market, but after the closing bell in the big market, it's anyone's guess what will happen in the mini (although it usually doesn't wander too far). This can make stop management a nightmare, and will usually require a wider margin to avoid getting stopped out prematurely.

And then there's the choppiness. When the index markets pick a direction they will go, and in a hurry, but after that you could see several days (or even a week) of choppy trading. This is when most of my whipsaws occur as I wait for the next "real" breakout.

Retired has posted some very interesting things about the Dow and for the most part I agree with his assessment; however in my experience the indices can be very difficult markets to trade indeed.

Erich
http://www.tradershelpingtraders.net
http://www.supportandresistance.com