Day Trading

You answered your question yourself, isn't it. Buying a stock is not a lottery ticket, it is part ownership in the business. If the business does well over the long term, so will the stocks performance. I am sure you have lots of examples in front of you -companies like ITC, HDFC, Ranbaxy, Infosys, and many more that have been doing well for decades, so have their stocks, if you held on to them.

Dada, its time you read a real Investing book, Try One up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch, to start with. You will forget about wasting time in evolving trading strategies, and invest the time and effort in picking real good stocks, as Peter Lynch practically shows you how to. (There are better books to start with, but I am guessing you will enjoy the anecdotal style adopted by Peter Lynch more than the slightly more academic but nevertheless excellent reads like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham)

If you want to build long term wealth, change tack NOW. Or else, if you have enough money to fritter away, keep trying at the 1: 99 odds!

Best of luck, just hope you have an iron stomach, because it is not a game for people with a weak stomach.

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

Good Luck and Happy Trading!

The only trading method that I can suggest would have the most potential for success would be the "50% retracement rule." Of all the methods, this is the most reliable.

There's a book that discusses it. "The Trading Rule That Can Make You Rich" by Edward Dobson.

I can also recommend the following books, they don't discuss methods, per se, but reading them should afford you a better understanding of the markets, which may help you with your trading:

Wall Street: The Other Las Vegas, by Nicolas Darvas.
The Traders, by Sonny Kleinfeld.
The Professional Commodity Trader, by Stanley Kroll.
Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Taleb.
The Trading Rule That Can Make You Rich, by Edward Dobson.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edward Lefevre.
Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance, by Paul Wilmott.

The following website offers practical, realistic trading advice: http://commonsensetrading.googlepages.com

http://www.stockmarketresources.blogspot.com

http://www.picktherightbroker.blogspot.com

I have been studying the market for about 2-3 hours a day for maybe 5 months now, and I have developed some guidelines. Just so you know, a few weeks is considered swing trading. But there is no "quick money" and here's why:

Investing in mutual funds should require about 20 hours of research
Investing in stocks – 100 hours
Trading – 250 specialized hours

What I mean by specialized is that if you trade stocks, you need to be studying stock price movement and trading strategies EXCLUSIVELY for 250 hours. Personally, I have, at the least, around 350, and I have spread my knowledge around to stocks, options, general education and investing, futures, financial info — everything. I haven't even started paper trading my strategy, and I expect to be another 150 hours from trading, which I expect to start in July.

The smartest way to start off is to sit on the sidelines and educate yourself until you feel you're ready for whatever you decide to take on. I hate it sometimes, but I know the profits from my learning will be more than worth it. Best of Luck!

Btw, if you cut corners, you will regret it! There are plenty of people who either give up or cut corners and fail. It takes a special kind of person in this field. Email me with any questions if you like.

Some strategies you can research are:

Trend Following
Scalping
Momentum Trading
Range Trading
News Trading (buying/selling on news or anticipation thereof)

All but news trading involve some form of Technical Analysis which I would advise you to read about as well.

I would also recommend you start looking into an ECN (electronic communication network) to use as your primary trading platform.

Wiki has a lot of information you can use, but I would always recommend reading independently and doing research online. Some authors you can look up are Alexander Elder, Michael Covel, Curtis Faith and John Murphy to name a few.