New Record in Nasdaq 100 Trading Pattern

From an algorithmic and technical trading perspective, we always ask: “What could be different this time?” and “How is the market changing?” Recent data shows a significant shift.

In March 2025, the Nasdaq 100 experienced a record 21 instances of 100-point Zig Zag moves—up from the previous record of 19. For context, each 100-point move in Nasdaq futures represents a $2,000 change per futures contract. With 21 such moves, this amounts to an impressive $42,000 in price movement per futures contract, compared to the roughly $10,000 movement seen on average in recent years. The price movement is measured on intra-day price data during the day session using one minute trading intervals with traditional Open, High, Low, Close bars.

Despite this volatility, the CBOE VIX remained below 30, well under its previous record highs. Although the market experienced what appears to be a “normal” pullback, both the speed on daily charts and the number of intra-day Zig Zags have reached unprecedented levels.

Why This Matters for Algorithmic Trading:

Risk Management: Quantifying extreme price movements helps in mapping out and managing risk, especially during “tail” events.

System & Position Sizing: Understanding these extremes allows us to refine system selection and adjust position and contract sizing accordingly.

Strategy Performance: It provides insight into which trading strategies perform best under extreme conditions.

Data Note: The Nasdaq 100 futures data was exported from the #Tradestation platform, with calculations generated and plotted using #Python, #Anaconda, and #Spyder.