CPI Trading: Hot CPI Day Cost the Most | ELITE Tape

CPI trading set the tone for ELITE accounts this week: Wednesday, the day a hotter-than-expected inflation report hit, was the costliest session of the week by a wide margin. Friday, when the Nasdaq Composite fell harder than on any other day, was the second-lightest.

ETF is a futures prop firm for traders who want uncapped LIVE ELITE withdrawals, and this week shows why the calendar can matter as much as the chart. The day of the scheduled report cost more than the day of the bigger index drop two days later. If you trade around big releases, knowing which days carry that risk is part of sizing your week.

Key Takeaways

• Wednesday, October 14, the day of the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) release, made up about two-fifths of the week's net loss across ELITE accounts, more than four times Friday's loss.
• Friday was the Nasdaq Composite's worst session of the week, yet it was ELITE accounts' second-lightest loss, and E-Mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) finished Friday green.
• Micro E-mini NASDAQ-100 (MNQ) led every instrument in losses, about three times NQ, and was red on all five sessions. Its worst day was CPI day.
• Only metals, currencies, Natural Gas (NG), and Micro 10-Year Yield (10Y) finished in profit. Not one stock index or gold contract made the green column.
• None of the five sessions closed green for ELITE accounts.

Below: where ELITE volume went, the short list of winners, where the losses landed, and how each day lined up with the real market.

Micro E-mini NASDAQ-100 (MNQ) led ELITE trading volume again, more than half of all ELITE trades on its own and well ahead of E-Mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) in second. Together the NASDAQ-100 pair carried about three of every four ELITE trades. Micro Gold (MGC) was third, followed by E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) and Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES). Gold (GC), E-Mini Dow (YM), Micro E-mini Russell 2000 (M2K), Micro E-mini Dow (MYM), and Micro Crude Oil (MCL) completed the top 10.

That concentration matters in a week like this one. When most of the activity sits in one index, a report that moves that index moves almost everything, and this week the NASDAQ-100 took the brunt of the inflation news.

Silver (SI) topped the profit list, ahead of Swiss Franc (6S) and Micro Silver (SIL). Copper (HG), Euro FX (6E), Australian Dollar (6A), Natural Gas (NG), Micro Copper (MHG), and Micro 10-Year Yield (10Y) filled out the rest. Only nine instruments finished the week in profit, and every gain on the list was small next to the losses in the stock index contracts.

What's missing tells the story. No NASDAQ, S&P 500, Dow, or Russell 2000 contract finished green, full size or micro, and neither did Gold (GC) or Micro Gold (MGC). The Nasdaq Composite lost ground for the week while the Dow edged higher, and still no Dow contract made the profit list for ELITE accounts.

Micro E-mini NASDAQ-100 (MNQ) led the loss column at about three times E-Mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) in second. E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) was just behind NQ in third, followed by Gold (GC), Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES), and Micro Gold (MGC). Micro Crude Oil (MCL), Micro E-mini Dow (MYM), E-Mini Dow (YM), and Nikkei/USD (NKD) completed the top 10 loss instruments.

MNQ was red on all five sessions, and its CPI-day loss was nearly double its next-worst day. On its own, MNQ accounted for about half of Wednesday's loss. ES also had its worst session on Wednesday. NQ took a different path: its worst day was Thursday, and it finished green on both Tuesday and Friday.

One heavy session can do outsized damage. On an Elite Sim-Funded account, ETF's loss limit rule can be triggered within a single session once it applies. And if a report-day loss ends an evaluation, ETF's Cost to Get Funded Calculator shows what resets and retries add up to before you plan your next attempt.

Planning your size before the next big report? Browse available evaluations and pick the account size and drawdown style that fit how you trade the calendar.

All five sessions closed red for ELITE accounts. Wednesday was the heaviest by a wide margin, Thursday second, and Tuesday the lightest.

• Mon 10/12: Relative volume lowest of the week - Net Loss (3rd Heaviest)
• Tue 10/13: Relative volume 2nd highest of the week - Net Loss (Lightest)
• Wed 10/14: Relative volume 3rd highest, nearly level with Tuesday - Net Loss (Heaviest)
• Thu 10/15: Relative volume highest of the week - Net Loss (2nd Heaviest)
• Fri 10/16: Relative volume 2nd lowest of the week - Net Loss (2nd Lightest)

Public market reporting shows a week driven by inflation data. Monday, Columbus Day, the Dow rose while the Nasdaq slipped 0.4% as memory and AI stocks fell. Tuesday was close to flat for the S&P 500 as bank earnings rolled in. Wednesday, September CPI rose 3.7% from a year earlier, above the 3.6% economists expected, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9% while the S&P 500 lost 1%. Thursday, the Producer Price Index rose 1.3% for the month against a 0.5% forecast, yet stocks closed higher, led by a 1.1% gain in the Dow. Friday, AI stocks sold off again, and the Nasdaq fell 2.1% on the day and 4.5% for the week, while the Dow finished the week up 0.7%.

Set that next to ELITE results. The heaviest ELITE loss landed on the CPI release day. Thursday's hot PPI came with a rising market, and ELITE accounts still had their second-heaviest session. Friday's broad tech slide, the worst index day of the week, was one of ELITE's lighter losses. None of this is presented as a cause of ELITE accounts' results, only as verified market context for the same calendar days.

Thursday carried the heaviest ELITE volume of the week, yet it finished second in losses. Wednesday, the costliest session, sat third in volume, nearly level with Tuesday. Tuesday was the second-busiest day and the lightest loss. Volume alone didn't line up with which days hurt most. Wednesday, the CPI day, cost more on an ordinary amount of trading than Thursday did on the busiest.

Gold (GC) had a session of its own on Thursday: its busiest day of the week by several times, and more than its entire weekly loss came on that one day.

Streaks and frequency data we're watching:

• NQ (E-Mini NASDAQ-100): second in losses behind MNQ, and still a fixture of the loss column since we've been tracking this data.
• MNQ (Micro E-mini NASDAQ-100) and ES (E-Mini S&P 500): each a top-10 loss instrument for a 12th straight week.
• Gold (GC): a top-10 loss instrument for a 6th straight week, and Micro Gold (MGC) for a 3rd.
• Euro FX (6E): a top-10 profit performer for a 6th straight week, and Silver (SI) for a 3rd.
• Micro 10-Year Yield (10Y): made the profit list for the first time in the last six weeks.

A scheduled release can matter more than the market's worst day, and CPI trading is a clear example. This week's calendar is lighter. Housing data comes Monday and Tuesday, with building permits, housing starts and pending home sales all on Tuesday, then jobless claims on Thursday, ahead of the Fed's rate decision at the end of the month. If you want a drawdown that doesn't move against you while you're up, look at a Static evaluation, where the minimum balance never trails (see how the Static plan works). Want more than one account size or drawdown style? Add several evaluations to the cart and check out once.

ELITE accounts are sim-funded. The figures in these recaps are position P/L from those accounts, not LIVE ELITE results. Traders reach an Elite Sim-Funded account either by passing an evaluation or by purchasing a Direct to Funded (DTF) account, which skips the evaluation step, and those who do well may progress to LIVE ELITE, ETF's real-capital program, where withdrawals are uncapped above your onboarding balance.

Related Articles

• S&P 500 Futures: How MES Beat ES This Week (last week, the week before this CPI report)
• NQ Futures: Not One Green Day, Even as the Fed Hiked (the last Fed decision week)
• Prop Firm Challenge Pass Rate: Beat the Beast Results (the one-day challenge timed to the July CPI release)

Elite Trader Funding offers evaluation paths for every stage on the way to uncapped LIVE ELITE withdrawals, whether your CPI trading plan is to sit out the release or trade it with a smaller size. Evaluations are available for every account size. Real trader results, community feedback, and program details are available through ETF's testimonials, Elite Points program, affiliate program, and trading competitions.

Accuracy note: Figures in this recap are aggregated position P/L across ELITE accounts for October 12 to October 16, 2026, shown as relative indexes and directions. They are not any individual trader's results.

Risk Disclosure: ELITE accounts operate in a simulated trading environment. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss, and past performance of simulated accounts is not indicative of future results.

Pricing and Product Disclaimer: Pricing, promotions, and product details referenced in this article reflect information available at the time of publication and may have changed. Visit the evaluations page for current pricing.