Day Trading

Now, keep in mind that the premarket trading doesn't open where it left off the day before, but rather, where the current bid/ask prices are. Thus, if a stock closed yesterday at 10 bucks, came up with stellar earnings this morning at 7:30, you'd expect the initial bid/ask to be above 10 bucks (as everyone, not just you, got this news). Now, it is possible that the last trade for the stock this morning was lower than the pre-market bid/ask. But it is the current bid/ask price that matters and tells what you can get for it now. Thus, you wouldn't be able to pick it at 10 bucks pretrading. Now, it is possible that if you premarket trade and you get the stock early in the day, you can appreciate the continued rise during the day of that stock (although you probably could have done the same by just buying it at market open). However, the premarket trading could have also over-reacted (in particular, if the stock is very lightly traded). If the latter is the case, then you would have been better off just buying the stock at market open.

Bottom-line is that you should probably buy/sell stocks pre/after-market just as you would normally, keeping in mind everyone else has the news too. Further, you should be careful of large spreads with the after-hours trading, as it reduces possible gains. Hopefully this helps?

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.

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

Any person, website, company that is going to charge you for trading tips is most likely making more money on you than they ever will following their own advice.

The whole premise behind active trading is that the market is ineffeicient and thus, short-term opportunities arise to take advantage of such innefficiencies. The problem is that once an inefficiency is identified and gets mass publicity, it ceases to work as the trading/investing community starts to discount that information into the price.

What you need is education, not tips. Its the difference between being given a fish and learning to fish. Some strategies very well may work 80-90% of the time IN SOME SCENARIOS. But nothing will work 80-90% of the time in every kind of market.

There are really 2 main kinds of strategies out there.

1.) Those that work in a trending market
2.) Those that work in a range

The only thing these paid services are SOMETIMES good for is leads. Its up to you and your education & judgment to determine if these leads are good enough to implement with your hard earned cash.

But in order to decide this, you must have some method that you are consistently using to discriminate between what makes a good and what makes a bad trade. If you are not willing to take the time to learn this, then you should simply put your money in an ETF and/or mutual fund and be happy with getting your 8-10% on average.

If you are willing to educate yourself there are a number of resources available to you.

http://www.EliteTrader.com is a thriving community of traders where you can get brokerage reviews, vendor reviews, educational material reviews, etc…well worth looking into.

http://www.WilyTrader.com is a blog where you can see first hand what it is like to be an active trader and get a feel for the different kinds of strategies that are necessary for success.

http://www.traderfeed.blogspot.com is Brett Steenbarger's website where he talks about the psychological aspects of trading

http://www.Amazon.com : and look up the following books/authors:
The Master Profit Plan
Mastering the Trade
Brett Steenbarger (Get both of his books)
Trading For a Living

In short, just be very careful about any service offering you the sky. I guarantee you that such rewards to not come without great risks, and more often than not, those risks will come to fruition way before you see a dime of those rewards.

Hope this helps

While day trading is neither illegal nor is it unethical, it can be highly risky. Most individual investors do not have the wealth, the time, or the temperament to make money and to sustain the devastating losses that day trading can bring.

Here are some of the facts that every investor should know about day trading:

Be prepared to suffer severe financial losses

Day traders typically suffer severe financial losses in their first months of trading, and many never graduate to profit-making status. Given these outcomes, it's clear: day traders should only risk money they can afford to lose. They should never use money they will need for daily living expenses, retirement, take out a second mortgage, or use their student loan money for day trading.

Day traders do not "invest"

Day traders sit in front of computer screens and look for a stock that is either moving up or down in value. They want to ride the momentum of the stock and get out of the stock before it changes course. They do not know for certain how the stock will move, they are hoping that it will move in one direction, either up or down in value. True day traders do not own any stocks overnight because of the extreme risk that prices will change radically from one day to the next, leading to large losses.

Day trading is an extremely stressful and expensive full-time job

Day traders must watch the market continuously during the day at their computer terminals. It's extremely difficult and demands great concentration to watch dozens of ticker quotes and price fluctuations to spot market trends. Day traders also have high expenses, paying their firms large amounts in commissions, for training, and for computers. Any day trader should know up front how much they need to make to cover expenses and break even.

Day traders depend heavily on borrowing money or buying stocks on margin

Borrowing money to trade in stocks is always a risky business. Day trading strategies demand using the leverage of borrowed money to make profits. This is why many day traders lose all their money and may end up in debt as well. Day traders should understand how margin works, how much time they'll have to meet a margin call, and the potential for getting in over their heads.

Don't believe claims of easy profits

Don't believe advertising claims that promise quick and sure profits from day trading. Before you start trading with a firm, make sure you know how many clients have lost money and how many have made profits. If the firm does not know, or will not tell you, think twice about the risks you take in the face of ignorance.

Watch out for "hot tips" and "expert advice" from newsletters and websites catering to day traders

Some websites have sought to profit from day traders by offering them hot tips and stock picks for a fee. Once again, don't believe any claims that trumpet the easy profits of day trading. Check out these sources thoroughly and ask them if they have been paid to make their recommendations.

Remember that "educational" seminars, classes, and books about day trading may not be objective

Find out whether a seminar speaker, an instructor teaching a class, or an author of a publication about day trading stands to profit if you start day trading.

Check out day trading firms with your state securities regulator

Like all broker-dealers, day trading firms must register with the SEC and the states in which they do business. Confirm registration by calling your state securities regulator and at the same time ask if the firm has a record of problems with regulators or their customers. You can find the telephone number for your state securities regulator in the government section of your phone book or by calling the North American Securities Administrators Association at (202) 737-0900. NASAA also provides this information on its website at www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/ContactYourRegulator.cfm.

Instead, read the Intelligent Investor and follow Warren Buffett. Get a great job and invest the proceeds wisely.

Best Regards,

Docmase

You can visit http://stocksguide.checkouttoday.info for some useful tips and info related to your query. Good luck!

You can visit http://stocksguide.checkouttoday.info for some useful tips and info related to your query. Good luck!

I manage funds in forex trading, and in my experience, I find that period before the European markets open to be most profitable.

Hope this helps.
- Jim http://jsforex.blogspot.com