Index futures is the only way, the new rules only allow 3 days plus the day of entry before your brokerage firm will liquidate your position with or without your blessing in short side equity trades. S&P futures do not have that restriction. As a result you have to be dead on right timing wise to short individual stocks. This is one of the results of this wonderful government intervention. This takes liquidity out of the market and makes swings like we just saw in the last 45 minutes today more likely to happen. I am not sure if this applies to the SPY which is the stock proxy of the S&P futures. I do not trade that due to it being alot less liquid than the futures. If it does not and you prefer stocks to futures that might be the way to go or the Q’s if you want to short the Naz.