Kamis, 03 September 2009

Advice For Online Day Trading

By Matthew Mitchell

Online day trading is fast paced. The market is a volatile place and new day traders need to stick to a budget. They should know how to hold stock, know how to sell stock know how to withdraw from the trade when trade is not in their favor. Learning to trade through a course and later using free simulators to trade without investment before day trading with money will eventually help the trader to earn good profits. Day trade is no place for emotions and unless there is a risk management and loss mitigation plan in place, day trading online is not wise.

The advantages of day trading online are that traders can exit the market before the market closes. They are not affected by overnight risks, negative price changes and overnight price movements.

The general misconception about day trading is that day traders can make quick money. The truth is that day traders can lose money equally quickly. Experts believe that money management in this type of trading is more important than other forms of trading. Experts also advice that borrowed funds should not be used in this activity because an adverse decision could land the trader deep in debt.

Experts warn that this activity can be addictive. The trader has to have a capital based budget and the trader should leave the market should adverse conditions prevail. This is no place for greed. The market is so volatile that it is impossible to predict when stocks will crash. However, for the disciplined trader the probability of making a good profit is a distinct possibility.

Rabu, 26 Agustus 2009

Online Trading - Day Trading Rules

By Chuck Ainsworth

So you are performing online trading and trade stocks and/or options and call yourself a day trader. Do you know the requirements of day trading? In our user's group, many times this question comes up and what happens if I accidentally (or on purpose) violate one of these rules? There are several variations of actions that can occur that may trigger day trading and I will try to answer most of them. As each situation is different, I will list the most common.

What Is Day Trading?

In this article we are only discussing day trading as it pertains to stocks and options. Commodities and Forex do not have the same day trading rules. I do not know about other trading disciplines.

If you buy and sell a stock or option on the same day, that is day trading. For instance, if you buy 1000 shares of stock ABC (fictitious symbol) at 9:30 am and sell the 1000 shares of stock at 12:15 pm, you have just entered into a day trade.

What Is a Pattern Day Trader?

A pattern day trader is defined in Exchange Rule 431 (Margin Requirement) as any customer who executes 4 or more same day trades within any 5 successive business days and your day trading activities are greater than 6 percent of your total trading activity for that same 5 day period (from FINRA web site).

What Are The Rules?

1. Account over $25k. -- To trade and not encounter any problems the equity in your trading account must be maintained over $25,000.

2. Buying/Selling same day -- For accounts under $25k, if you buy and sell the same stock in the same day, any proceeds from that stock's sale cannot be used in another trade on that same day. (May depend on brokerage account. My brokerage allows it but warns you about it.))

3. 3 times in a week -- You are allowed only 3 trades within 1 week (5 trading days). The 4th day trade may subject you to a 90 day suspension of all day trading activities.

What Are The Penalties?

1. You may get a 90-day suspension of all day trading activities.

2. Your account can be suspended for 90 days and no trading will be allowed in that account.

How to Avoid Problems?

1. Maintain a minimum of $25,000 equity in your trading account.

2. For accounts under $25,000 do NOT buy and sell a position in the same day, hold your position overnight.

3. If you buy and sell the same stock/option in the same day, do not enter into a new trade where the monies from the sale of the stock just sold will be used in the purchase of the new position.

4. If you have purchased a position from monies from a prior same day sell, it is best to hold that position overnight.

5. Do not perform a day trade activity more than 3 times a week.

I have attempted to outline the day trading rules as I have encountered them over my years of trading. You can get much more detailed information by searching the internet for day trading and pattern day trader. A good source is Wikipedia.

Selasa, 11 Agustus 2009

Penny Stocks - Learn the Day Trading Secrets of Penny Stocks

By Bryan Burbank

If you're looking to make money as a day trader you need to understand what type of stocks to buy. There are tricks that people use when they make a living purchasing and selling penny stocks. You can make a lot of money once you learn the secrets to buying and selling these types of securities. The biggest advantage in trading penny stocks is you have a lot of leverage. What happens is you can purchase a large amount of stocks with a small investment so when the price per share goes up you make a lot of money. Using this leverage can be a great way for you to build a wonderful yearly income.

One of the most important thing you do before buying and selling any penny stocks is get the information to be successful. There many publications that are out there in the market that you need to subscribe to so that you have the most up-to-date information on the stocks you are considering buying. The secret to making a fortune in the stock market is having the information so you know you are making the right picks. It is very important before you make a mistake that you talk with somebody who has a day trader so they can give you there if I use.

Remember that it is not difficult to make a lot of money buying and selling penny stocks. The most important thing you do is to get the information you need so you know what to buy and when to buy it. Taking advantage of the many publications that are available to you. You may want to talk to a day trader who has experience so that he can give you advice before you make your fortune.

Senin, 03 Agustus 2009

Why a Day Trader Must Only Use Risk Capital While Learning to Trade and Not a Trading Simulator

By Edward Kingston

Trading is a risky business. It is also the only business that lets you invest a very small amount of money to get started as compared to most other businesses out there. It might also possibly be the only kind of business that does not require a lot of time commitment, employees and all other sorts of typical overheads associated with any other kind of business. It is a very lucrative business that draws people from all walks of life towards it. Yet it is a true but sad fact that only ten or so percent of people that are drawn to trading finally make it in the business and move on to become professional traders.

It all starts with the lure of easy money. People from outside the trading world think it to be very easy. That is because anyone with a few dollars and an internet connection can open an online trading account and start trading like the professional traders. That is so far from the truth. There is a lot more than just pulling the trigger. After all even a two year old can click on a Buy or Sell button and make a trade. The outcome is anyone's guess. Trading is a psychological game where only the tough survive. That is why it is so important to start off trading on the right foot.

A trader must start trading with real money. There are no other ways around this. The only way a trader can cut his or her teeth in this business is by trading a small real money account. That is what is called Risk Capital in the business. A trader must only trade with money he or she can afford to lose. They must never trade with money that they might need for their living needs or have saved for some other purpose such as retirement or college. They should never trade with borrowed money either such as from a credit card or a friend or relative. That is what is called Scared Money in the trading world.

It is also not advisable to trade on a trading simulator. A trading simulator, offered by many brokers out there today, just cultivates bad habits. Trading on a simulator will not condition a trader mentally as it is play money they are trading with and they can afford to lose an unlimited amount of money. By trading a small size with real money enables the trader to build his mental edge. Using real money will help the trader be more cautious with his trading approach and only take trades that have met his rules. This way they will prepare themselves mentally for some inevitable losses that always come in any business. They will also be able to trade more confidently as they will see real money added to their account too in the form of profits. Starting with a small real money account helps build a strong trading profession for the future.

Sabtu, 04 Juli 2009

A Reference For Choosing the All Around Best Stock Day Trader Program

By Jonathan Langley

A stock day trader program is one which makes use of mathematical algorithms as well as exploits exactly how the market tends to run in patterns to ultimately effectively predict where the market will go next. Because every step of the trend analysis process is carried out for you and all you've got to do is enact the recommended trades, these programs are ideal for beginners as well as the more casual trader out there.

But it should be known that not every program makes good on its promises to effectively break the code of the stock market and make you money. Many are just out to steal your dime after luring you in with promises of guaranteed profits, so here is a reference devoted to teaching you how to choose the best all around stock day trader program so that you can make the kind of money that you want from the stock/day trade market.

First, let's narrow the playing field and only look at the stock day trader program and programs which offer a full money back guarantee. These are the publishers who stand behind their program enough to guarantee your complete and utter satisfaction in their product. If you choose, you can even test the program first hand by making use of the trial period, typically of 4-8 weeks, in fact some publishers even recommend that you test their program.

Also, I'd recommend that you only go for a stock day trader program which focuses on lower risk but higher profit potential penny stocks. These stocks are more common to fluctuate wildly given their diminished purchase prices, so they can easily be influenced or at least affected, enabling you to quickly double or triple your investment. The tricky part is separating these stocks from the rest of the crop, which is why you especially go after a stock day trader program which specializes in these stocks.

Kamis, 18 Juni 2009

Becoming A Successful Day Trader

By Tony Jacowski

There are two types of day traders - scalper and momentum traders. The scalper buys and trades stocks within minutes, whereas a momentum trader buy stocks that fluctuate from high to low during the day. But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal of a day trader is to buy stocks and sell them at the highest possible value.

A trader should be knowledgeable in paper trading and risk management. Traders keep themselves updated by reading stock exchange periodicals. It is essential for a day trader to absorb the relevant information completely and regularly. New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Security Dealers impose minimum margin requirements for day traders.

A day trader's world is full of risk, where fortunes can change by the minute, depending on unpredictable market swings. Besides luck, the profit of a day trader depends upon how vigilant and fast they are. The trader's analytical, as well as risk management skills also determines success. The element of unpredictability is evident in every aspect of their work, ranging from holding positions on long trades that involve purchasing the stocks at a low rate and selling it later at a higher rate, to short selling that involves the reverse of long trades. This involves selling the stock at high rates in anticipation to compensate it when the prices fall, to speculating without being bothered with the fundamentals and technical aspects of the trade.

Characteristics Of A Day Trader

• Believe in their efforts and do not pay heed to rumors.

• They have a sharp analytical ability.

• They are strong-headed people, who are not affected by the prevalent market trends.

• They employ a mathematical approach.

• They work towards understanding the latest regulations related to trading fees and taxes.

• Day traders are not affected by the fluctuation of financial indicators such as NASDAQ and DOW JONES.

Anyone can become a day trader by opening a trading account with a brokerage company or a stock exchange or bank, provided it allows trading. You need to fulfill certain legal and commercial formalities, before initiating trades. You can become a day trader in any one of the following categories:

• Stock, bonds and securities.

• Foreign Exchange Currency

• Commodities - such as metals and food grains.

In order to be a successful day trader you need to be very cautious about every step you take, since a single mistake can turn successes into failures. You need to respond to liquidity and volatility quickly. Though day trading is a lucrative career, you need to keep in mind that you do not become an experienced day trader overnight. It requires time and rigorous practice. If you want to pursue day trading as a career, then you need to practice on a trading website to gain confidence in the application of new techniques and implement them in your career.

Senin, 01 Juni 2009

How to Become a Successful Day Trader - 7 Quick Tips

By Peter Skotnicky

No matter which direction the stock market seems to be going, there are always stories people learning to become successful day traders. Even during difficult down-turns in the market these people are making serious incomes from successful stock trading.

So what do these successful traders know that the average trader doesn't know? How do they continue to keep their stock trading profitable, regardless of what the market is doing?

Here are some traits you might want to consider if you're interested in growing a successful trading business.

1. Understanding the Market

Successful trading comes from understanding that the individual shares listed on the stock market never move as one single unit. Each individual stock represents a portion of a much larger, publicly listed company. Just because you might see the average NASDAQ index is moving up or down, this doesn't automatically mean that every stock listed is going in the same direction.

While the average movement may appear to be going down, there will always be individual stocks that trend upwards. The same is true in reverse too. If you think the average market movement is going up, there will always be some stocks that drop in value.

This could mean that it's possible to select stocks that move in the opposite direction to the average movement in the market and continue to profit from stock trading even during downturns.

2. Risk Tolerance

Understanding and accepting your own personal levels of risk tolerance are vitally important factors if you wish to build a successful trading business. Learning about day trading from a person with a much higher level of risk tolerance means that you could potentially end up trading much more than you're comfortable with.

The same thing is true of listening to advice from well meaning friends and family who have much lower risk tolerance levels to your own. While they may see what you're doing with stock trading to be 'too risky' for their own preferences, you may be happy with the levels you have accepted.

Always base your stock trading strategies within your own risk tolerance levels.

3. Continuing Education

Choosing a hot stock pick based on the advice of someone else is never a great strategy for successful trading. Always take time to learn a little about the company behind the stock you intend to trade and base your stock trading decisions on the information you learn for yourself. The more you learn about how to analyze the trends of whichever stocks you're trading, the more likely it will be that you'll increase your day trading profitability.

4. Lose The Greed Mentality

Truly successful stock trading means not allowing greed to get in the way of your day trading strategy. If your chosen stocks have made their profit, sell up and realize the profits. You can always buy back into the market at a later point, but you can't always guarantee a profit unless you lock it away with a sell trade order.

Many newer day traders set themselves a strategy and plan to sell any stocks they have bought once it reaches a specific point. When the values reach the point they first considered being a good sell point, greed gets in the way and they talk themselves into waiting until the stock goes just a little higher, just a little further for just a little longer.

5. Be Prepared to Cut Losses

When the price of a particular stock begins to trend downwards, an experienced or more successful day trader will cut their losses and get out of the market before those losses compound any further. In fact, many of them would have set an automated stop loss order to sell out once the price begins to fall too far.

Newer traders seem to have a different mentality where they go into a form of panic mode and hang onto losing stocks, hoping like crazy that the price will recover and they'll make some of their money back. In order to be successful with stock trading, you'll need to be prepared to cut losses and continue trading.

6. Remove Emotion

A successful stock trading business is not an emotional venture. You need to learn to view your buying and selling as nothing more than a business transaction. Remain objective about the stocks you have chosen and stick firmly to your trading strategy. No matter what your heart or your gut instincts are screaming at you, run your trading business with your head. If your strategy says you should sell your stocks at a predetermined profit margin, then follow your strategy.

7. Day Trading Robot

Successful day trading can often depend on the trading platforms and stock analysis software you're using. While it's still possible to make good profits using only your stock broker's trading platform, as your trading business profits grow you should consider using automated software that can help you track and monitor the movements of many stocks at once. Some software can offer the ability to create pricing signals using charts of pricing movements, which are able to send you a buy signal and a sell signal based on trends for each individual stock you're trading.

As you can see, there are several traits to develop if you wish to develop a successful stock trading business of your own.