Day Trading

Most trading tips providers or signal providers don't work. You can read reviews on most of them on http://www.forextopten.com and http://www.forexpeacearmy.com .

Go to : www.investopedia.com

No you can not. but you can lose hundreds in seconds. 30 years investing.

Hi David,

The brokerage business is highly competitive and rates are usually subject to negotiation. Unfortunately there are no shortcuts. Use the internet and search for “Futures Broker” or “Forex broker” and compare the prices of 10 brokers. This will give you a feeling for the lower prices possible.

When comparing prices, make sure that they are “all inclusive”, i.e. inclusing exchange and NFA/SEC fees and any other fees that might apply. Sometimes brokers lure you in with “Trade the e-minis for $0.50″ and then you will see that they add all kinds of fees and you end up paying $5 - $6 per round turn.

When trading futures, you can expect to pay $4 - $5 per round turn with a discount broker and $5 - $8 if you need some service. Full service brokers usually charge $10 - $15 per round turn.

Right now you might consider trading the e-mini S&P Midcap. The CME Group and Infinity Futures Brokerage run a promotion until the end of the year: You can trade this contract for $1.50 per round turn ALL INCLUSIVE. I think that’s a heck of a deal.

The e-mini Midcap (Symbol EMD) is comparable to the e-mini Russell (ER).

Regarding Forex: I don’t trade Forex at all. I prefer trading the currencies as futures contracts at the CME. This has there advantages:

1.) Lower spread. The spread is usually 1 tick and not 2-5 pips.
2.) Better leverage: 1 tick in the futures is worth $12.50 and not $10 like in the forex. That’s 25% more!
3.) It’s regulated, and you are trading against other traders and NOT against the house.

Hope that helps.

Markus

PS: Below is the link for the EMD promo I talked about.

Between 8 am EST and 1 pm EST. This period is the one with biggest volatility, so it's the best one to trade Forex.

You could, but most don't. Leave the things you "are not into" until you've studied, and practiced, it enough to be comfortable. Besides, a GOOD brokerage won't want to open an account for you to do that unless you either had more or talked as if you knew more. Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? Definitely no. You are merely fresh fish to the sharks. Sorry. Study it a bit more.

"technical analysis for beginners" - gives a good overview of the main points of very short-term market movements…

there are plenty of other books but you need to first figure out what you're going to specialize in - I trade mostly forex, but you might try futures or some people are even still trading stocks nowadays

Conservatively, you can average about 12% a year by buying large-capitalization stocks and selling (also called writing) call options to collect a premium. So you can make about $12,000 for each $100,000 in your account. With a $500,000 account, you would make about $60,000 a year. With a larger account, of course, you could make more.
Another way to make consistent profits in stocks in "swing trading," going for small moves of several days to several weeks in stocks or stock options. I use Japanese candlestick charts to swing trade, and have been averaging 8% to 12% a month, using some leverage. Instead of buying stocks, I buy deep-in-the-money options, going both long and short. Doing this, even a small account of $100,000 can make you $8,000 to $12,000 a month, an amount many people would consider a very comfortable living. Get a book on Japanese candlestick trading, paper-trade for a while (just make "pretend" trades, tracking the results in Yahoo Finance) until you become proficient at recognizing and acting on the signals.

If you're a finance major, you should have learned by now that day trading is a terrible idea. On average, any gains you make will be totally negated by transaction costs.

Also, I don't think technical analysis is designed to be applied to the extremely short time intervals involved in day trading. Head and shoulders formations mean nothing in the span of 4 minutes.

Go read "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton G. Malkiel. It will put the stuff you learn in finance class in a real world perspective that will keep you from doing silly stuff like day trading.

Please ignore the above REPORTED spam artist. I am an investment advisor of thirty years, hold all the 'tickets' NYSE #7, CBOT #3, Options Principal #4 and others … I have yet to see a program that works consistently. I have seen and used several programs that work exceptional well if the user fully understands what the program is designed to do. Sadly, too many outfits go on TV and the Internet touting Commodity, FOREX, Options, Stocks, Day trading, and other programs and systems that may be a usable product for an educated investor and make all kind of glowing promises to novices that really don't have much chance at success unless they get really educated real fast before their risk money runs out.

send an email if you like and I will give you names of a couple of these that are worth investigation. I don't sell any of them and have no affiliation with the companies. Good Luck, Good Fortune, and Keep those very wary eyes WIDE OPEN!!