Day Trading

The traders have all the news well before you do, so if you are trying to nickel and dime your way to riches by picking a little spurt to long here or a little sag to short there, don't–they've already done it and moved on by the time you spot it.

Also, be very, very careful of the proportional share you trade with, compared to the larger account value. I was trading potatoes once, um, a while back, and some rich guys tried to steer away from a long-established trend. I got a margin call during one of their 'force it' moves and the brokerage confiscated my whole account value and sent me a bill for the rest. Instead of paying off my mortgage, I was paying on my debt for two years. Without the extra traffic, the general trend was right and I would have profited nicely–but I didn't have enough reserve for when it suddenly went radically against me. I do have one consolation, though, something like 90 millionaires got caught in a still larger default, and several dozen went to jail.

Feel lucky that your account balance is "slowly decreasing"–things could be much worse. Check the charts for agricultural spreads and straddles, many of the patterns I used to rely on don't work any more, but see if you can find some of your own, then play it safe. If nothing else, go to currencies and short the dollar and go long on almost anything else. Good luck.

One reason the opening hour is so busy is because the European markets are still open. 5pm in London is about 11:00 am our time.

The lulls to avoid are Friday afternoons, especially the day before a holiday.

E-mini's trade just like the full size contracts, except the dollar value is smaller and so are the margins. Everything you do with a futures contract you can do with a mini contract, you'll just make/lose less money had have lower margin requirements.

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.

Some of the more commonly day-traded financial instruments are stocks, stock options, currencies, and a host of futures contracts such as equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures.

Day trading used to be the preserve of financial firms and professional investors and speculators. Many day traders are bank or investment firms employees working as specialists in equity investment and fund management. However, day trading has become increasingly popular among casual traders due to advances in technology, changes in legislation, and the popularity of the Internet.

Trade Frequency

Although collectively called day trading, there are many sub-trading styles within day trading. A day trader is not necessarily very active. Depending on one's trading strategy, the number of trades made in a day may vary from a few to hundreds.

Some day traders focus on very short or short-term trading, in which a trade may last seconds to a few minutes. They buy and sell many times in a day, trading very high volumes daily and therefore receiving big discounts from the brokerage.

Some day traders focus only on momentum or trends. They are more patient and wait for a ride on the strong move which may occur on that day. They make far fewer trades than the aforementioned traders.

Overnight Position

Traditionally it is suggested day traders should always settle their positions before the market close of the trading day to avoid the risk of price gaps (differences between the previous day's close and the next day's open price) at the open. Some day traders consider this to be a golden rule to be obeyed at all times. Some day traders, however, believe they should let the profits run, so it is acceptable to stay with a position after the market closes.

Day traders often borrow money to trade. Since margin interests are typically only charged on overnight balances, the extra costs discourage them from holding positions overnight.

Profit and Risks

Because of the nature of financial leverage and the rapid returns that are possible, day trading can be extremely profitable, and high-risk profile traders can generate huge percentage returns. Some day traders manage to earn millions per year solely by day trading.

Because of the high profits (and losses) that day trading makes possible, these traders are sometimes portrayed as "bandits" or "gamblers" by other investors. Some individuals, however, make a consistent living day trading.

Nevertheless day trading can become very risky, especially if one has poor discipline, risk or money management. The common use of buying on margin (using borrowed funds) amplifies gains and losses, such that substantial losses or gains can occur in a very short period of time. In addition, brokers usually allow bigger margins for daytraders. Where overnight margins required to hold a stock position are normally 50% of the stock's value, many brokers allow pattern day trader accounts to use levels as low as 25% for intraday purchases. This means a day trader with the legal minimum $25,000 in his account can buy $100,000 worth of stock during the day, as long as half of those positions are exited before the market close. Because of the high risk of margin use, and of other day trading practices, a day trader will often have to exit a losing position very quickly, in order to prevent a greater, unacceptable loss, or even a disastrous loss, much larger than his original investment, or even larger than his total assets.

Even when a position has made a profit, the trader has to offset the transaction costs and the interest on the margin. It is commonly stated that 80-90% of day traders lose money. An analysis of the Taiwanese stock market suggests that "less than 20% of day traders earn profits net of transaction costs".

Day trading is considered a risky trading style, and regulations require brokerage firms to ask whether the clients understand the risks of day trading and whether they have prior trading experience before entering the market.

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

The most basic rules would be to put stop loss orders for an acceptable level of loss you are willing to take on the downside, and not let emotion or sentiment about the stock affect that.

On the upside, it is always good to know what is an acceptable level or return, and set triggers to sell atleast part of the holdings that point. There are a variety of methods and strategies you could employ to manage risk. You can look at hedging your positions with options, and a good reading would be the book 'Options Futures and Other Derivatives' by John Hull.