Pine Script Strategy · Included in Pro
MNQ Pine Script Strategy for the Micro Nasdaq-100
MNQ is one of the most heavily traded micro futures contracts: liquid, precise, and one-tenth the size of NQ. The strategy behind this page is a VWAP reclaim with EMA trend confirmation on the 5-minute chart.
Strategy at a glance
No Strategy Tester figures are published for this configuration yet. When they are, they'll show here with their commission and slippage assumptions.
What MNQ is and why it works for prop firm evals
MNQ is the Micro Nasdaq-100 contract — exactly one-tenth the size of full NQ. Each tick is worth $0.50 (versus $5.00 on NQ); a full point moves $2. That size differential is what makes MNQ the natural instrument for an evaluation account.
The practical math: on a 50k Apex eval, one full NQ contract offers a fairly narrow tick cushion before the trailing threshold is threatened. One MNQ contract gives ten times that cushion for the same dollar move. Scale to several MNQ contracts and the position size is precisely controllable in a way a single full NQ contract can't match.
- Tick size: 0.25 pts = $0.50 per tick
- Point value: $2
- Exchange: CME — available on Tradovate and Rithmic
- Supported at: Apex, Topstep, MFFU, Tradeify, Bulenox, TradeDay, and every other major CME futures prop firm
MNQ's small tick value lets risk be dialed in to the dollar. On a firm with a modest daily limit, a few MNQ contracts with a tight tick-count stop can keep per-trade risk small enough to absorb several losing trades in a row without approaching the limit.
The MNQ VWAP reclaim strategy — how it works
The strategy runs on the 5-minute RTH chart. The logic is simple enough to follow bar by bar:
VWAP Reclaim Entry
Price crosses and closes above session VWAP (long) or below it (short) on the 5-minute bar. Entry fires on the next bar open — no chasing intrabar wicks.
EMA Trend Filter
No long entries below the trend EMA in a downtrend, no shorts above it in an uptrend — filters out the counter-trend reclaims that fail most often.
ATR-Based Stop
Stop is set from ATR at entry, capped at a configurable dollar max per contract — adapts to session volatility without blowing past the risk cap.
Daily Kill Switch
Once session losses hit the configured threshold, no new entries fire until the next RTH open.
Session runs 9:30 AM to 3:55 PM ET (RTH only), with a configurable cap on trades per day and a target in the 1.5–2R range based on the morning's range. The daily loss threshold, trade cap, and stop cap are all inputs, so you set them to your own account's limits.
Contract sizing for 50k prop firm accounts
| Firm | Daily Limit | Contracts | Stop | Risk / Trade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex 50k | None | 5 MNQ | 30 ticks | $75 |
| Topstep 50k | $1,000 | 4 MNQ | 25 ticks | $50 |
| MFFU 50k | $1,250 | 3 MNQ | 20 ticks | $30 |
| Tradeify 50k (Growth) | None* | 5 MNQ | 30 ticks | $75 |
| Bulenox 50k | None | 5 MNQ | 30 ticks | $75 |
*Tradeify's Growth path uses a soft pause rather than a hard daily loss figure.
These are conservative starting sizes, not a recommendation for your account. The daily loss input stops new entries once the session loss reaches your threshold, but slippage and fast markets can still carry a loss past it, so size with room to spare.
Which prop firms work best with this MNQ strategy?
Apex Trader Funding
No daily loss limit on the evaluation makes Apex the most flexible environment here. The intraday trailing threshold tightens as balance grows, but the strategy's defined R:R targets exit before giving back significant unrealized gains. Apex eval rules →
Topstep
EOD trailing drawdown is one of the most forgiving structures for an intraday strategy — swings within the session don't move the floor. The daily loss limit requires conservative sizing, but a morning loss that's partially recovered before the close doesn't cost drawdown cushion the way it would on an intraday-trailing firm. Topstep Combine rules →
MyFundedFutures
Static drawdown — the floor is fixed from day one and never moves regardless of profit. That suits a strategy running consistent daily gains: equity builds without the floor ever chasing it. MFFU rules →
Tradeify (Growth path)
No daily loss limit and eod trailing drawdown, which gives the most contract flexibility of any firm listed here. Tradeify rules →
How to automate this MNQ strategy with CrossTrade
The MNQ strategy is included in Pro ($69/mo, cancel anytime), along with the MES, NQ, and ES strategies. Backtest it in TradingView's Strategy Tester first. The strategy fires a TradingView alert on every entry and exit signal, and to turn those alerts into live orders:
- Add the strategy on TradingView: once your invite lands, it appears under Invite-only scripts in your Indicators menu. Add it to an MNQ chart on the 5-minute timeframe.
- Create a TradingView alert: set it on the strategy's order fills, delivered by webhook. The alert message is already formatted for CrossTrade. Webhook alerts need a paid TradingView plan.
- Route it with CrossTrade: paste your CrossTrade webhook URL into the alert. CrossTrade places the order on NinjaTrader 8 (through its desktop add-on) or Tradovate (in the cloud, nothing to install).
Pro includes setup guides for automating on NinjaTrader 8 or Tradovate. CrossTrade's Account Manager can also hold a daily loss limit, a trailing drawdown, and an end-of-day flatten on each account, separate from the script. On NinjaTrader, those limits run while NinjaTrader and the CrossTrade add-on are running.
All major prop firms — Apex, Topstep, MFFU, Tradeify — permit automated trading via TradingView alerts and webhook execution on evaluations. Always verify the funded-account automation policy separately before connecting a webhook to a live account.