Quick disclosure: this is a personal trading journal, not investment advice. I trade at tastytrade with my own money. No affiliate links here, no broker or prop firm deals. Read the full disclaimer.
Last month: My broker closed my trade for me. Again. →
Trade Summary
I held my one /MNQ through the September FOMC against my best instincts.
Three trading days later I was up for the year.
Monday alone was plus $1,735.00 on the contract. The account is now up $1,618.40 for 2026, plus 15.6%.
This is my account. It's not typical, and it's not advice.
Everyone expected a hike
I've been long one /MNQ since August. On September 11 I rolled it to the December contract at 29,429.50.
Wednesday the 16th was the Fed.
Everyone was expecting a rate hike, so my gut said the market was going down. I thought about buying /MNQ puts to protect the position, as insurance or just in case. I didn't buy them.
But secretly I was also hoping the market would just be relieved once all the tension and uncertainty was over, and go up.
In August the insurance actually paid, the same month my broker closed my trade for me. This time I skipped it and held naked.
They hiked a quarter point, 12 to 0. FedWatch had that at 98.71% the same day.
At 2:05 PM /NQ popped to 29,521.50, then dropped 458 points into the press conference, down to 29,063.50 at 3:26 PM.
I held through that too. The contract settled up $20.00 on the day.
The week, day by day
Day | /MNQ settle | Contract P&L | Net liq |
|---|---|---|---|
Mon 9/14 | 29,449.50 | -$469.50 | $8,964.31 |
Tue 9/15 | 29,246.75 | -$405.50 | $8,504.41 |
Wed 9/16 (FOMC) | 29,256.75 | +$20.00 | $8,867.74 |
Thu 9/17 | 29,743.00 | +$972.50 | $9,386.10 |
Fri 9/18 | 29,917.25 | +$348.50 | $10,044.00 |
Tuesday was the lowest close of the week, the day before the meeting. $8,504.41.
The contract settled higher every day after the Fed.
Thursday, it looks like reversing my instincts won again.
For the week, the contract made $466.00 and the account was up $575.19, Friday to Friday.
Monday: /MNQ up 867.50 points
I noticed the move early in the morning.
Of course I never thought about selling.
/MNQ settled at 30,784.75. Up 867.50 points from Friday, plus 2.9% in one session. At $2 a point that's plus $1,735.00 on the contract.
The account closed at $11,994.20. Up $1,950.20 on the day.
Crazy.
$AMD was up 9.95%. All AI.
I also believe the relieved tension from last week's FOMC is contributing.
Past break-even for the year
Friday's close, I was still down $331.80 for 2026.
The account crossed break-even overnight, between 2 and 3 AM my time, hours before the 9:30 stock market open.
On July 29, the July FOMC day, the account was at $5,074.01. It's up $6,920.19 from there.
The high for the year was $12,172.52, back on January 27. I'm $178.32 under it.
What's still open
The contract is still on. It's up $2,710.50 from the 29,429.50 roll at Monday's settle.
That's $61,569.50 of Nasdaq on a $11,994.20 account. About 5.1x. Maintenance excess is $4,379.57.
The plan is to keep holding until I'm up enough to add NNQ when it makes sense. That's the new nano Nasdaq contract, $0.20 a point, a tenth of an /MNQ.
EOD Monday: +$1,735.00 | YTD +$1,618.40, +15.6%
Catch you next week.
I trade futures and options at tastytrade with my own money. I earn nothing if you open an account there. The link is just so you know where these fills come from.
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Growing Tendies does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which is incurred from any loss of money on a trade. All trades are done using the tastytrade platform.
