There are two primary divisions of professional day traders: those who work alone, and/or those who work for a larger institution. Most day traders who trade for a living work for large players like hedge funds and the proprietary trading desks of banks and financial institutions. These traders have an advantage because they have access to resources…
Many day traders end up losing money because they fail to make trades that meet their own criteria. As the saying goes, “Plan the trade and trade the plan.” Success is impossible without discipline. To profit, day traders rely heavily on market volatility. A day trader may find a stock attractive if it moves a lot…
Wise day traders use only risk capital that they can afford to lose. This protects them from financial ruin and helps eliminate emotion from their trading decisions. A large amount of capital is often necessary to capitalize effectively on intraday price movements, which can be in pennies or fractions of a cent. Adequate cash is required for…
Individuals who attempt to day-trade without an understanding of market fundamentals often lose money. A working knowledge of technical analysis and chart reading is a good start. But without a deep understanding of the market and its unique risks, charts can be deceiving. Do your due diligence and understand the particular ins and outs of the products you trade.
Professional day traders—those who trade for a living rather than as a hobby—are typically well established in the field.3 They usually have in-depth knowledge of the marketplace, too. Here are some of the prerequisites required to be a successful day trader.
The profit potential of day trading is an oft-debated topic on Wall Street. Internet day-trading scams have lured amateurs by promising enormous returns in a short period of time. Some people day-trade without sufficient knowledge. But there are day traders who make a successful living despite—or perhaps because of—the risks. Many professional money managers and…
A trader needs to have an edge over the rest of the market. Day traders use any of a number of strategies, including swing trading, arbitrage, and trading news. They refine these strategies until they produce consistent profits and limit their losses. There also are some basic rules of day trading that are wise to follow: Pick your trading…
Day trading is most common;y observed in the stock markets and on the foreign exchange (forex) where currencies are traded. Day traders are attuned to events that cause short-term market moves. Trading based on the news is one popular technique. Scheduled announcements such as the release of economic statistics, corporate earnings, or interest rate announcements are subject to market…
Day trading is a fast-paced form of trading where individuals buy and sell securities within the same trading day. The primary goal is to profit from short-term price movements in stocks, options, futures, and other financial instruments. Day traders typically use a combination of strategies and analysis, including technical analysis, which focuses on past price…
The swing highs and lows that the Zig Zag indicator identifies may represent future support or resistance levels. It can, therefore, help traders spot key price levels that may be control points for future trading. The Zig Zag sometimes reveals a major trend change by virtue of the lines it draws marking out a well-known…
