Day trading is when you buy and sell within the same trading day such that all positions are usually closed before the market close of the trading day. Traders that participate in day trading are called active traders or day traders.

Day traders usually trade stocks, stock options, currencies, and futures contracts like equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures.

Day trading used to be avilable only to finacial firms and professional investors. Many daytraders are specialists in equity investment and fund management.

With the Internet and electronic trading, day trading can be done by anyone witha computer.

As a day trader you don’t hold positions over night to avoid risk. If you hold over night you better have an edge. Day trading involves risks, as with any trade or investment.

The college of trading

You will lose money before you graduate from the college of trading. This training can take months. In this learning period it’s essensial to lose as possible so you have you capital when you start making money. You should only trade with your own money in the beginning. If you are going to be a serious day trade, save up some money before you go pro.

Day traders don’t invest

As a day trader you don’t hold positions over night, that’s to risky. You don’t invest and you don’t care about things like fundamental analysis. Most people think long term to try to find out if a company is over- or underpriced. To us, that’s irrelevant. As a day trader you have to find other strategies.

Your background doesn’t matter

If you are a carpenter, construction worker, or unemployeed, it doesen’t matter. You make your own luck in this business.