day tradingsoftwareday traderstock day trading
I am trying to draw charts to find their trading range. What is the difference in using 6mo, 1 yr or even a 5 day chart? How do I actually draw to find the range? Thanks!
Day trading


To draw the range, you need to connect the highs togeter to find level of resistance and then lows to find level of support.

This range between level of resistance and level of support is the trading range.

The idea of using differnt duration charts to find the direction of market in long term and shotrt term. So, if the long term chart is pointing upward, enter the trade when shorter term chart is also pointing upward.

To get more info, you can visit -

http://the-forex-trading.blogspot.com

Day trading


I would say a mix of strategies might be best. The best thing to do is – do a lot of research. A good place to find interesting investment ideas is http://www.top10traders.com – this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas. There is a charting feature, so you can see how your portfolio performs compared to the S&P 500. Also, you can create your own "group" so that you can see how you are doing compared to your friends.

Here are this month's best traders:

http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx

Good luck.

Real time quote, fast and reliable access, detailed chart. Basically anything that day-traders or swing-traders need.

P.S. I live in Canada

Day trading


Http://www.thinkorswim.com/

There's a special address for Canadians, https://www.thinkorswimcanada.com/.

Simply the best for swing trading stocks and options. There's even an audio program all day (9:15-11:30AM & 1:30-4:00PM, EST) . The program also answers questions on specific technical questions (on specific stocks) & there's a video/chart which you can see the "ShadowTrader" actually show what he's referring to.

The platform is great (really great!!!). Charts are great (both TOS and Profet). Service is great.

They have many conditional order types including;
Blast 6
One Cancells Other (great for putting in a stop and limit price at the same time).
1st Triggers next
Chose by time & date execution.
Market Close
and many more

There graphs art great. Service is great. You'll be amazed. This platform was rated #1 by Barron's in their March 2007 best online broker article ((for software based brokers).
They were an incredible hit in Las vegas at the TradersExpo this past November. More people were checking them out more than any other broker.

I've been with them since April 2007.
(I have used Schwab (active trader program), Ameritrade, Scottrade and Fidelity).

The only thing they lack is "BackTesting" and that's coming out in this month.

Other ideas for good platforms;
TradeStation (good charting, backtesting + much more)
Iinteractive Brokers (fair charting, over 40 order types).

I find the short term moving average more predictable to base the trends for the following day or two. What I find unnerving is that it is not as simple as "buy" when the blue line crosses the "black line" as advertised on their website! Especially if the market is quite choppy, this could lead to many whipsaws. I also do not find the neurl index very useful, as at times the market goes in the opposite direction to the neural index. What I do find useful, although this was not suggested by the marketing department, was the use of the short term predictive average crossing the medium term moving average and or the 10 day sma; these proved better as a predictive trend for day trading. I fould the predictive ranges for the next day very misleading and certainly very unreliabe for placing stop losses or take profit levels.

Does anybody have any good experience with this software?

Your response will be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Day trading


I have Vantage Point and look at the Short Term Predictive relative to the Medium Term Predictive.

First, you're using Vantage Point to day trade, but they will tell you that Vantage Point is for position trading. Yes, they're predicted high/low is very accurate (granted, major moves can be outside the range, but how often do you have a huge 1 day move?), but it only tells you the possible high/low, now what the trading pattern for the day will be.

One thing I could suggest is this: Use the Short Term/Medium Term Predictive averages (the pink and light blue lines, I have mine set on the bottom part of the chart) to get an idea of when prices could be changing direction. Also, when you switch from the 10 day or 5 day average to the predicted high/low, you'll notice that the short/medium predictive lines will be different that from the 10/5 day chart. What I do is when the short predictive (light blue) line crosses the medium (pink) line on both the 5/10 day and predicted high/low chart, is when I get an indication markets will turn (and it's very accurate).

When that happens, since you day trade, use your technicals on whatever time frame chart you're using to take trade only in the direction of the crossover. For example, say you're watching the S&P 500, the market is trending up and you notice that on the 5 or 10 day chart that the short term predictive has crossed below the medium term, and when you switch to the predicted high/low chart that the short has not crossed below the medium predictive, but is about to, wait till the short crosses below the medium predictive on the predicted high/low chart (that is short has crossed below medium on both 5/10 and predicted high/low chart). When that happens, use your technicals to time short entries, don't go long. In other words, say you're using a 5 minute chart. If the market is trending up, and you're technicals give you a signal for a short, then take the short trade.

When the signals show the 5 minute chart starting to turn back up again, close your short, but do not go long, only enter again when you get a sell signal.

Trade in the direction of the larger trend. You should get less whipsaws and will be trading in the direction of the larger trend. When the short crosses above the medium predictive on both the 5/10 and predicted high/low chart, the only take long trades.

Hope that helps.

Got any web sites that can assist me? thanks!
Day trading


For technical analysis the sites are
stockcharts.com
stockta.com

earnings.com (great during earnings season)

I guess I should have worded it differently. I already trade ameritrade. I use a newer dell with a 19in LCD. I am interested in upgrading to a multi-LCD/ multi-video card setup to follow more charts at once. Does anyone have a multi monitor setup?
Day trading


You will need a computer that is quick you will also need a highspeed internet connection and most importantly you will need level 2 charts that are not delayed that are up to the minute tick for tick with the market, which you will probably have to pay a subscription for. Most charts on the internet are delayed. If you don't know how to day trade you will need to learn how which I am assuming you don't understand the true concept of day trading most people don't they think it is based on volatility and momentum which couldn't be further from the truth. It is based on mocking the specialists and getting inbetween the bid ask spreads which have become very tight in todays markets. so educate yourself before you start.
I'd like to be able to identify the daily trading patterns for some stocks. I know many sites provide charts that cover the span of days, weeks, months, etc. But I'd actually like to see the day chart for each of the past few days, or weeks, side by side so I can see patterns. Thanks in advance.
Day trading


Http://finance.yahoo.com provides hourly daily 5-day etc. charts. Input the stock symbol and click on the Get Quotes button
If you are, how much is the minimum should I use? What books did you read? What did you do? Are there any mentors I can learn from? I want to take care of my family, especially my parents who are retired.
Day trading


This can work – it depends on how much attention you're willing to devote to it. I have found that any time I take my attention off of the market for a few hours or a few days, I'm punished by an opportunistic turn that I missed. This is not a maybe – it will happen if you're not at your desk. And when I focus 9:15 through 4:15, I perform, with a couple hours homework a night.

The books recommended by others here are great. It's hard to advise you further not knowing how much you do/don't know about the market. The paper trading practice sites are an essential. Try those out in earnest and you'll save yourself from unnecessary mistakes later when errors cost real money.

I find that it's important to do a few things:

1. Chart the S&P for uptrends and downtrends – when you see an established trend the market will tend to move that way, and stay within the down slope and up slope "channel" in its daily activity for multiple days. This gives you added confidence as to when to "buy", when to "add to" your position, and when to cash out. When a stock busts out up or down that can be the opportunity to get in or out (depending on direction) of a given index, ETF, or stock. This will also help you stabilize your stock monitoring because you will focus on the stocks at present which are near "support (floor)" or ceiling (resistance)" positions. To help me do this, I've found it is incredibly valuable to have a second computer screen (I use two PCs because I'm mobile when I want to be) with several key screens of data/chart references.

One screen has no more than 6 stocks I'm watching that day, with charts on each screen.

One screen has all major sectors' charts on it – by sector fund (USO, OIH, etc.)

One screen has 52 week uptrending stocks I'm monitoring for pullbacks

Other screens are categoric (e.g., AG companies)

2. Using other resources such as the 52 week high stocks (WSJ, YahooFinance, Google Finance, etc.), and Top 100 (IBD.com) are also opportunities to check for trends, and determine whether to jump on this momentum during a given day, or to wait for a pullback and get in before a multi-day upswing for a multi-day "swing" trade. If you put in the time, you will identify pending breakouts.

3. Listen to Fast Money to pick up on hot trends and expert interviews that can indicate stocks to watch since they have such a wide audience.

4. Keep track of volume levels and beware of low volume days.

5. Track sector movement and rotations. Institutional buyers will dictate what will move, whether it "makes sense" to you or not.

6. Listen to Art Cashen (sp?) – every morning about 9:15 AM EST before the market opens. His insights are usually good indicators to align with or watch for. Good pulse on the market.

7. Know that a margin account can be traded every day with no interest if you don't carry it over night. Non-margin accounts will have a 3 day carry cycle until you can reinvest the funds.

Best wishes for success. Cramer can be a goof on some topics, but knowing what he's tracking can also give you one or two key stocks to watch for the next day if conditions align to support those stocks. His trading rules lists are very good.

From Scottrade FAQ:

“What do the colors mean on Time & Sales?

• • • Green = trade occurred on the Ask.
• • • Red = trade occurred on the Bid.
• • • Cyan = trade did not occur on the Bid or Ask.
• • • Yellow = trade broke either high or low for the day.”

Regarding Cyan, what kind of trade is it if it doesn’t occur on the bid or ask? I see them often with up to 4 decimal places and sometimes in large volume. What kind of trades are these and what are they called?

The yellow trades, are they the ones that have a (T) beside them i see in after hours trading? What kind of trades are these and what are they called?

Day trading


Actually their website should have detailed descriptions with examples, or try to call directly for info.
What are the most recommended books for day trading and chart analyses
Day trading


If you go to a book story, you can find many books on day trading. However, none of them have methods that are proven to work. I can't recommend any of them. The truth of the matter is that most day traders lose money, while most buy-and-hold investors make money. There are no tried and true methods for day trading.

Most highly trained professionals refuse to day trade. Many amateurs think they are smarter than the pro's and try their hand at day trading. Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread…

Read these links:

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/daytips.htm

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/05/daytrading.shtm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/daytrade.shtm

http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2004/12/27/daytrading-dangers.aspx