Intraday Trading Strategies
Intra day trading simply means the entry and exit of the market within the same session and is also known as day trading. This type of forex trading is particularly risky but the right strategy can bring significant gains.
Not all stocks are suitable for day trading and to identify the right target the intra day trader will look for two key qualities: volatility and liquidity. The forex market offers both of these making it ideally suited to those wanting to engage in short term trading.
Many traders who opt for day trading hope to make large gains much easier than in other types of trading but very often this is simply not the case. In reality day traders look for much smaller gains per trade than those using longer term strategies, meaning that one big loss can have much more of an impact.
Psychological factors are particularly important in day trading and it is important to be a master of your own emotions if you are to be profitable. The biggest mistakes novices to this type of trading make is to believe that every day must end in positive territory, no matter how small. The law of averages dictates that this simply will not be the case and some days will result in a loss. One technique successful day traders use is to calculate the maximum loss they can sustain per day. If at any point they reach that amount, they stop trading for the day because to continue carries the risk of losing more. Once the next day rolls around, the slate is wiped clean and the tally is re-set to zero. The added benefit to this is that you know that if you reach the point where you cannot afford to lose any more, you will simply stop – there is no internal pressure to try and reclaim your losses.
There are a few different methods involved in day trading and one of the most well-known is scalping. This involves a series of very short term trades where the position is sold as soon as it turns a profit. To make money from scalping requires a number of winning positions throughout the day as each trade`s returns are likely to be trivial.
Fading is another popular option. This type of intra day trading involves identifying stocks which have swung sharply higher and then entering a short position. Fading is an extremely high risk tactic and is based around the assumption that the stock has been overbought and the earlier buyers will want to collect on their profit. The exit point for fading is once buyers start to come in for the trade again.
Intra day trading is also very suitable for positions based on momentum. This type of strategy focuses on identifying strong trends with high volumes, or riding a wave based on news or market announcements. Traders can either opt to buy at the earliest sign of a trend or immediately upon a news release and sell once volumes start to decline – a sign that reversal is about to occur – or will simply fade the surge in price when the opposite action is taken.
Intra day trading utilises many of the same strategies as longer term trading but the crucial difference is upon exit. To make money in either forex market or any other kind of market amenable to intra day trading, it is essential to be able to close positions before the tide starts to turn, making stop losses an even more useful tool than usual. With attention to detail and discipline, intra day trading can bring significant returns.