Day Trading

Online trading has lowered commissions to the point where they are no longer the primary consideration. Ditto for good execution, if indeed they are Direct Access. If you decide later to trade commodities, options, futures, or currencies, TerraNova may be the only one that you can trade everything, real time, online, direct access. A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.

What you probably should be concentrating on is the best trading software or trading platform. But even then, everyone's criteria are different.

Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron's, but you'll find others in the trading magazines. Active Trader, Futures Mag, etc.

This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it's a pain to switch, so once you choose, you're kinda stuck with it.

Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.

I use RealTick at TerraNovaOnline, but it costs $275/mo. I think the Investor package is free to use, and just uses one screen.

What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which is free. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.

The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.

TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don't have to do that, but it's okay here if you do.

Look into the Investor platform at TerraNovaOnline.com
I think this one is free if you open an account there. I use the full-blown package called RealTick for $250/mo. The Investor platform is the same software, sized down to one screen. I use five monitors. This is very technologically advanced softwarefrom Townsend Analytics, the one that digitized the entire Nasdaq last year. Cutting edge technology. If you make some money, then definately upgrade to RealTick.

There is no trading over the weekends from Friday 1:15 pm until Sunday 3:00 pm (pacific time).

Be aware that volume dies down when the markets stop trading (after 1:00 pm). The bid/ask spread can also increase dramatically (specially on the Nasdaq). Prices can also be pushed up/down rather quickly due to lack of liquidity, so amateurs always get stopped during these times.

Check outthis link at TerraNova Online. The Investor platform is an escellent trading tool for a beginner, and is limited to one screen. I use RealTick and five screens, but it costs $250/mo. Ask about a free trial.

http://terranovaonline.com/

A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.

Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron's, but you'll find others in the trading magazines.

This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it's a pain to switch, so once you choose, you're kinda stuck with it.

Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.

What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which I think is free anyway. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.

The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.

TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don't have to do that, but it's okay here if you do.

Read vociferously:
"Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?"

"Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer

The Beginner's Bible in Technical Analysis is:
Edwards & McGee"Tech. Anal. Of Stock Trends"

Droke, ClifTechnical Analysis Simplified

Kahn, Michael N.Tech. Anal. Plain & Simple

Kamich, Bruce M.How Technical Analysis Works

Lefevre, EdwinReminiscences of a Stock Operator

Lofton, ToddGetting Started in Futures

Lowenstein, RogerBuffet (Warren)-The Making of a Capitalist

O'Neil, William J.How to Make Money in Stocks

Oz, TonyHow to Make Money From Wall Street

Rotella, Robert P.Elements of Successful Trading, The

Schwager, JackStock Market Wizards

Schwager, Jack D.New Market Wizards

Sperandeo, VictorTrader Vic-Methods of a Wall Street Master

Wasendorf, RussellAll About Futures

Slutsky, Scot and Darrell JobmanComplete Guide to Electronic Futures Trading

You can get every one of these books from your local library. If they don't have it, ask about Interloan Library System.

Check out this site to see what traders are buying and selling:

http://top10traders.com/StockInfo.aspx

This is from 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 also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas.

Here are this month's best traders:

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

Good luck.

As for sources, check with your brokerage. Many of them make learning tools available to their clients.

Best of success.

Although it may not be obvious, day-trading creates certain risks for brokerages and exchanges as well as the individuals doing the trading.

The higher account requiremens reduce the risks for brokerages and exchanges. For more information see

http://www.nasd.com/web/groups/rules_regs/documents/notice_to_members/nasdw_003881.pdf

http://www.avafx.com/?tag=7777

Say you want data on the Dow. Go to http://finance.yahoo.com, click on Dow, then click on Historical Prices. Set the date range and click Get Prices.

Highlight the resulting table, Ctl-C to Copy, and then Ctl-V to paste into a spreadsheet program such as MS Excel. It may take several pages to get all of the data.

Simplest way: In the spreadsheet program, create another column, call it Change, next to the last column of numbers (Adjusted Close). Calculate this column as the value directly to the left, minus the value above and to the left. Count the minus signs (down days) and the zeros. Subtract from the number of rows and you'll get the pluses.

A more elegant way, if you are intimate with how to do formulas in your program, is to do an IF statement that does the following: IF the Adjusted Close is greater than the previous Adjusted Close, then enter 1; otherwise, enter 0. At the bottom of this column, have it calculate the sum. That will be the number of UP days.

Best of success.