Some experienced traders dogmatically assert that nobody makes money day trading. That is probably because they have tried, failed, and found some other trading style that suits them better. There is no doubt that day trading is a tough, competitive business, but the good news is that if it is your dream, it can be made to work for you.

Successful traders specialize in a trading niche which suits their temperament. In the process of doing this they may try different vehicles and strategies which are unsuccessful (for them). This is usually because the strategy is unsuited to the trader, not because it is “bad”.

After following a few blind alleys, I found my niche day trading grain futures contracts. I enjoy getting almost instant feedback on my trades, and having my money safely parked on the sidelines most of the time. It turns out that day trading suits my temperament, whereas longer term trading does not.

Day trading critics often trade relatively stodgy Forex markets. However, trading costs can sink a day trader, and, despite “commission free” trading offered by brokers, Forex trading costs are too high due to spread and slippage charges.

I prefer markets with greater volatility and enough volume to ensure a tight spread, but not such a huge volume that the market becomes hard to read. The grains (soybeans, wheat and corn) do the trick for me.

Do NOT decide on a market before you decide on your trading style. Find the style that suits you, then find the markets that respond best to that trading style.

Successful day traders should:

• Learn the concept of support and resistance in a market.
• Develop a trading system based on tactics at support and resistance levels.
• Test the system on independent data to make sure it has a positive Expectancy.
• Learn money management techniques to prevent taking on to too much risk.

Day trading often involves regular repetition of a simple trading plan to place high probability trades. If you learn the principles outlined above, stick strictly to your plan, and learn to avoid mistakes made in the heat of the moment, you are well on the way to day trading success.

Most day trading is done by professional traders who experience lower stress levels than you because they are using bank funds. You have to beat them at their own game despite the additional anxiety of having your own money at risk!

Two cardinal sins for a day trader are trading without a plan, and over-trading. You must have a plan which dictates your every move in the fast paced cut and thrust of a market session. Otherwise you will be a victim of bad decisions driven by emotions, the downfall of many a trader!

Over-trading often arises because you experience a loss and try to get it back by taking an unplanned trade. Very often, you end up making a bad day into a disastrous day. Sometimes people over-trade because they feel the more trades they take, the more money they make. In fact, all they are doing is building up huge trading costs which make it very difficult to make a profit.

Even though I am a day trader, I take less than one trade per day on average. If the trades you take are good quality, you can still make good returns. (For example, I placed 15 trades in February 2010 and recorded a return of 39% on trading capital invested. You can see the trades here).

David Bennett trades US commodity futures from his home on the Gold Coast in Australia. He provides coaching and mentoring services for people wanting to start trading for themselves. Visit http://www.12oclocktrades.com to read more futures trading articles.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D_Bennett

Technorati Tags: stock trading

Ok so 3 more posts today that I’ve dug up – I’m an information JUNKIE on this stuff lately. Give em a browse and let me know what ya reckon. They’re just from a few different sites I’ve been surfing lately that are generally good for information like this…

Angel recommends to “Avoid” NMDC FPO

We recommend an Avoid on the FPO, as at the lower price band the stock will trade at EV/EBITDA of 12.6x and 9.6x FY2011E and FY2012E, … Read More…

Ex-Cazenove Partner Convicted in Insider Trading Case

On each occasion Hatcher made the trades before market-moving UK stock market announcements. The jury convicted him of insider dealing in three of the … Read More…

US Stock Futures Inch Up, Driven By FACT, C

With FACT agreeing to be bought by Abbott (NYSE: ABT) for $27 a share, its stock soared 56% to $25.34 in German trading. The offered price represents a 67% … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

Back with more news for you today. It’s amazing how much good information there is on this stuff out there if you know where to look. Three in particular that I found really valuable were…

EQT Corp. to offer 12.5M shares of common stock

The announcement was made after the market closed Tuesday. Shares of EQT closed up 27 cents to $47.37 Tuesday and fell $2.61 in after-hours trading. Read More…

Option Traders Forecast Post-Earnings Slide for Focus Media Holding (FMCN)

Early indications point to a steady open on a slow news day and very quiet trading across international financial markets Wednesday. … Read More…

Call Traders Jump on Norfolk Southern (NSC)

This surge in volume was nearly eight times the stock’s average daily trading volume, according to data from WhatsTrading.com. In addition, nearly 85% of … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

How about these right… I think you’ll find the following nuggets of wisdom particularly insightful. Leave your comments below. Check out the second one in particular…

London Stock Exchange Sells 9% Stake In Turquoise

Late last year, LSE bought its stake in Turquoise, a Pan-European trading platform formed by investment banks to compete in European share trading. … Read More…

Goodrich Up 2.3% After Goldman Added Stock To Conviction Buy List (GR)

3/10/2010- Goodrich (NYSE:GR) is trading 2.3% higher at $71.33 after Goldman Sachs placed the stock on its … Read More…

Citibank Stock Hits Fourth Month High (NYSE: C)

The company’s stock closed at $3.82 and rose to $3.86 per share in afterhours trading. Citibank stock is still well below its 12 month high of $5.43 per … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

If you are new to the day trading scene, then the words “volatility” and “liquidity” probably seem foreign at this point; however, if you are to become successful at day trading then these are definitely two words that you will want to learn and study as they have a lot to do with day trading if you want to make a profit.

First, let’s start by defining both of these terms. Volatility, in short, refers to the risk or uncertainty that is involved in the security’s value that comes from changes of the size of the value. Liquidity refers to being able to convert the asset into cash easily without a price discount being involved.

These two terms are necessary for a day trader to know. When trading throughout the day, one should pay close attention to both the volatility and liquidity of the security. As a day trader, you want to be able to leverage large amounts of capital in order to take advantage of even the smallest price movements of stocks or indexes that are highly liquid.

You will need to study the different stocks that offer both the ability of being highly liquid while making sure that the volatility falls within your risk level. (Typically, the higher the volatility, the better chances for profit; however, it also means that there is a greater risk of loss.) Once you are able to pick out stocks that meet the requirements stated above, you will need to learn how to pick an entry point and an exit point in order to capitalize to the full potential.

There are typically four different strategies that are commonly used by a day trader when trading in this aspect. They include:

o Scalping: when you sell immediately after the trade has made a profit.

o Fading: this is when you short a stock after it makes a rapid move upwards.

o Daily Pivots: this is when you try to buy at the low of the day (LOD) and then sell at the high of the day (HOD) through utilizing signs of reversal in the price.

o Momentum: is usually influenced by news and trends, and the buyer usually jumps aboard to ride the flow until signs of reversal start to form.

Once you find a system that works for you, it will still need tweaking. Why? Well over 50% of day traders fail, but it’s not because of the lack of trying. It’s because of being uninformed and uneducated about this field. No matter what you do, you will always need to analyze it every so often in order to determine where you stand. Then, making adjustments or performing a few tweaks here and there will become evident. By doing this, you are sure to become one of the successful day traders.

Tami Jackson for http://www.locustrading.com/.

http://twitter.com/locuscapital

Locus Capital, LLC is here to help you with all of the education and leverage that you need to become successful in day trading or swing trading.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tami_Jackson

Technorati Tags: stock trading

Ok so 3 more posts today that I’ve dug up – I’m an information JUNKIE on this stuff lately. Give em a browse and let me know what ya reckon. They’re just from a few different sites I’ve been surfing lately that are generally good for information like this…

Wednesday Options Update: STI, VLO, UPS & RF

Shares of the underlying stock must be trading above $19.00 by expiration day next month in order for the investor to walk away with the full amount of … Read More…

eSignal Recognized as Top Financial Software by Numerous Experts and Trade …

eSignal(R), Advanced GET(R) Edition also received accolades from Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities and was first runner-up in both the Trading … Read More…

Yum! Brands’ Price Target, Estimates Lifted at Credit Suisse (YUM)

We recently removed shares of YUM from our recommended list back on Nov.2, when the stock was trading at $32.95. The company has a 2.30% dividend yield, … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

Back with more news for you today. It’s amazing how much good information there is on this stuff out there if you know where to look. Three in particular that I found really valuable were…

Symantec Corporation (SYMC) Chief Information Security Officer to Ring The …

It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3700 listed companies. … Read More…

Movers and shakers: China stock lunch break March 10, 2010

Still the stock is trading +5.4% higher with heavy underlying volume. While many may think FSIN is a good buy right now, I believe it’s too late and weak … Read More…

Comerica Raises $800 Million to Help Repay TARP Funds

Shares of Comerica, which hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. of New York to manage the sale, fell 1.6 percent to $35.70 in New York Stock Exchange trading. … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

Hey Readers! I’ve been comin across some crazy stuff the past few days from a few different blogs around the web which I just had to share with you. Check em out below…

Firing the $70 billion man: Full version

They retained a realtor to find an office space with 50 trading desks. Gundlach acknowledges that his team looked at commercial real estate. … Read More…

Cathay Pacific Shares Set to Cruise Higher: Charts

He is a speaker at trading conferences in China, Asia, Australia and Europe. If you would like Daryl to chart a specific stock, commodity or currency, … Read More…

YRC gets stock delisting notice; reverse-stock split plan proceeds

YRC Worldwide Inc. said it has received a non-compliance notice from Nasdaq regarding its common stock trading below $1 a share. The Overland Park-based … Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: stock trading

The stock market is a vibrant and an ever changing entity. Thus, if you are investing in stocks then you can experience unique and different scenarios every day.

The fact is that the stock market is a reflection of the ideas and attitudes of people around. Though it is a fact that no two people are alike, yet there is always some similarity with the other person. The similarity could be in anything, whether the kind of food you prefer or just the way you get out of bed in the morning.

Thus, no matter from which perspective you look at it, the fact remains that humans are habitual creatures. This is the tendency that is reflected in the field of stack trading and stock market. In such a scenario, it is the technical analysis that makes day trading a more profitable and reliable way of getting involved in the stock market.

When doing technical analysis, it is not always a cut and dry policy. The same format and core pattern does not work the same way in every market environment. For instance, one of the set ups that you can look for in stock trading is a three to five day pull-back on a daily chart of the overvalued stock shares and their buying opportunities.

The stock trade market is a volatile field and swing trading is the answer to the volatility which you face today. There are predictable market patterns which can be followed in order to find the potential signs of new income and benefits every time.

When we talk about swing trading, it is all about the high profit capability of day trading in combination of the low risk investment that is part of long term investment. Now, what is swing trading?

Swing trading is something that can fit between day and trend trading. In this trade, the stocks are held for a particular period of time, which is generally between a few days or for a few weeks. The traders who become experienced in the field of swing trading begin to gauge and see predictable patterns of the market. Thus, they tend to make money from the stocks which other traders will have no idea about.

The most important thing to be successful in swing trading is to invest in the right stocks. The best and most predictable choices in this field are stocks which are of large capital companies and thus are also among the most actively traded shares in all major stock exchanges.

In the field of day stock trade, however, the most important thing is to be patient and wait for the trade to come to you. If you are a beginner and not hoping to win the lottery in the first instance, then you should not worry about the best timings to buy and sell the stocks and about selling the stocks when you it is exactly at the bottom or selling it when it is at top.

Thus, to be a perfect trader, wait for it to hit the bottom and before selling it confirm its direction; only then are you ready to make the right move.

For any help on day trading Australia [http://www.learnshares.com.au/index.php/More-Share-Trading-Information/General-Share-Information/Day-Trading.htm], check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the day trading [http://www.learnshares.com.au/index.php/More-Share-Trading-Information/General-Share-Information/Day-Trading.htm]!

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gopi_Kisan

Technorati Tags: stock trading

E-Trade Stock Trading?

I am thinking about opening an account but need some help. What is the initial deposit for e-trade? How much money do you need to have? What are some other things i need to know about?

Technorati Tags: stock trading