3 Key Facts For Successful Day Trading

3 Key Facts For Successful Day Trading

by Charlie Cory

Day trading is a method of trading on the foreign currency exchange market in which a dealer completes all his trades in a single day. In other words, he may make a few dozen - or more - trades in a day with the aim of buying and selling swiftly and making a profit from the fluctuations in a currency exchange rate over the course of the day.

Does this explanation sound complex? Depending on how you pick your trades it can be. There are a number of systems and methods available, some of which can be quite daunting, especially to a novice investor. In a nutshell, the idea behind day trading is that currency exchange rates are subject to fluctuations over the course of the day. They might go up and they might go down depending on who's buying, who's selling and what rumours are floating around the market, or what news is currently being shown; particularly with respect to business. In fact, day trading in the foreign currency market is almost certainly the single segment of any type of stocks, currency or futures trading market most affected by rumours and real-time, real-world events. A savvy broker who is quick on his feet can roll up the profits by paying attention to how the current news bulletin is affecting the currency exchange rates.

The currency market, usually referred to as the Forex (short for Foreign Exchange), is the most liquid market in the world. The most recent data says that daily trading on Forex is in excess of $1.3 trillion U.S. dollars. That makes Forex the world's biggest, most proficient market. A major part of the reason for the liquidity and size of trade is the practice of day trading. The main difference between day trading and other types of trading (such as stocks or futures) is in how long you hold your investment. In the world of day trading, you hold nothing after the close of the day's market, so everything becomes liquid. Think of it as a game in which the object is to keep trading cards back and forward, growing the value of your cards, but you have no cards in your hand at the end of the day.

Of course, since the currency market is a 24 hour market, there actually IS no market closing - so the system changes somewhat. The currency market is open from Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon, with trading going on all the time, so you can pick your period to trade rather than being locked into the Stock Exchange timetable.

How You Make Money in Day Trading

People will tell you that the distinction between a day trader and an investor is the length of time that each holds onto their stocks. If you analyse Forex Trading deeply, you will know that this is a largely superficial difference. The real distinction is in the approach of short-term vs. long-term and liquidity. An investor buys something that he believes will gradually grow in value, and holds onto it for the long haul. A day trader will ride the minuscule changes in the currency market minute by minute; almost the way a surfer will ride a wave. Because you're trading in lots of say 200,000, a tiny variation can mean a big profit - or equally a huge loss.

Limiting Loss in Day Trading

One of the hardest concepts for new traders to comprehend is that of limiting loss. Let's say you make a trade for a currency that is heading down because you believe that it's near its support point - the point where it will bounce back and start heading back up. Instead of behaving as you expect, it breaks the point and keeps heading down - you're losing money instead of making it. You have two choices - hold onto it because you KNOW it will start heading back up soon, or get rid of it and control the quantity of money you're going to lose. The name of the game is to limit your losses and maximise your wins. You should decide ahead of time just how much you'll allow each trade to lose before you sell it, and then STICK TO YOUR LIMIT. Equally, you should decide how much profit you want to make at the start of trading, set a sell order for when the currency reaches that point, and then sell when it hits the mark.

It Might Sound Obvious, But Know What You Are Doing.

Day trading on the Forex is like any other industry. The people who make money are the ones who take the time to learn the market and appreciate the ins and outs of the trades that they make. Those who jump in feet first without learning the terminology, rules and trends of the Forex market are priming themselves to lose - and lose big. You must remember that there is no such thing as potential profit without the equivalent risk of losing money. Most importantly, before you leap in, find a course that teaches you Day Trading, and learn it! You cannot hope to be a successful trader without understanding the business that you are in.