I’ve been successfully trading the index over 7 years now. Some seem to think that this somehow has something to do with day trading stocks. Or, at least they try to compare it to stock day trading.

We prefer Index Trading. There really is no comparison to day trading stocks. With stock trading there are Many things you really need to know about the companies you will be buying or selling short. In fact, the majority of stock traders Never sell a stock short or bet against the company (which means you are betting the stock price will drop). Not being able to profit in a down trending market is a Major setback for an investor.

With Index trading we are only concerned with index movement. We don’t even care if it is going up or down. We just want the index price to move! We can place our trades short or long with equal ease. There is no market or company research to do, as we really don’t care what the individual companies are doing.

For instance, if you were looking at a company with the thought of buying stock, you would no doubt want to know what the PE ratio was, who the board members or major stock holders are. You should want to know if they are buying or selling. You might want to know what the BIG fund companies are doing in that sector (finance, health care, big pharma, tech sector etc.), and many other factors (or at least you should). Then you might use a chart to time your entry or exit strategy.

With index trading, it is all about the timing. You just want to know what the highest probability is for the next few minutes. Then you make your trade accordingly. If you have dependable data supporting your chart set ups, then you should take winning trades most of the time – Regardless of the fundamentals listed above!

You probably have realized that what is happening right now in the market is controlled by emotion. More correctly -traders’ emotion. We can tune into that emotion with simple set ups, and go for a short ride. We might even get into a long ride, but we are going to set up protection that will help us no matter which way it goes. When the index moves against us, we will get out fairly quickly. When it moves in our favor, we will let it ride as long as we can.

Now, if you just enjoy doing all that market research, go ahead. However, we have taught hundreds of stock investors to trade the index (mostly mini Dow and the S&P Emini), and the majority of them never go back to stocks!

Another advantage of index trading is the lower funding requirement. Stock day traders will need at least $25,000 in their accounts (depending on how many trades they make), where index traders can get started for $2,000 or less!

Index trading also offers a lot better leverage that stocks. The emini indices are comparable to the leverage of stock options, without all the headaches and limitations.

After the financial meltdown on Wall Street, I predict there will be MANY more investors looking at index trading as a Great alternative to stocks!

Doug West has worked in Financial Planning and Investment training for over 20 years. Listen to his online radio show at:

http://OpportunityInvestigator.com

Learn the art of simple Mini-Dow Index Trading.

Forget day trading stocks and learn how to trade the mini index!

The evolution of the internet made a host of great changes for the better in the way we perform many everyday jobs at home and at work.

Stock trading, once the domain of a select few stockbrokers, is now accessible by anyone with the required finances, and a computer with internet access.

The main attractions of Online Stock Trading are the significant reduction in both, the transaction costs, and time involved. Once you have set up an account with an online broker, a transaction can be undergone almost on the spot, and for only a few bucks per trade.

Everyone else has a “Top 10 List”, so here are my “Top 10 Points To Consider Before Selecting Your Online Broker”!

1. Find out if the stock quotes and account updates you receive are real-time or delayed. Most services have some sort of delay. Real-time quotes are usually available, so find out if they are, and at what cost, if any.

2. Some online brokerage firms specialise in certain types of securities. Some specialize in penny stocks, some only trade the major markets, some trade overseas, some specialise in options. Make sure your chosen brokerage firm “really” know your market.

3. Check out the procedures for entering and canceling orders (market, limit, and stop loss). Familiarize yourself with all your brokers procedures so that the administration of your account goes as smoothly as possible.

4. If you are contemplating a margin loan, check out the conditions and rules. Margin loans are dangerous for even experienced investors, so tread warily. Remember, margin accounts can be called in at the whim of the brokerage firm.

5. Make sure that the firm has an alternative way to execute trades if their website happens to be offline. Most will allow phone calls directly to brokers for no additional fees in the case of computer problems.

6. Take a look at the brokers privacy and personal information policies. The last thing you want is a flood of junk mail from the “quick buck” merchants. Most reputable firms won’t sell your personal information, but it pays to be sure.

7. Look very closely at their brokerage commissions, transaction fees, and conditions that apply to any advertised discount on commissions. Check for any hidden fees or penalties in the fine print. Double check anything that looks too good to be true.

8. Test their customer service. Don’t take their assurance of quality service at face value. Make an enquiry by email and test their response time. Call them with an “interesting” question. It’s no use finding out later that they have an answering machine, and don’t return calls or emails for 3 days.!

9. Check with your local securities authority to verify the legitimacy of the online brokerage firm and any disciplinary history they may have. If they are on any securities watch list, find another firm, quickly. The website at www.sec.gov is a good place to start.

10. Ask for testimonials. You need to know that they have a string of satisfied customers. You’re going to invest your hard earned money, so you need to see proof of their ability to deliver the service you require. If they can’t, or won’t show you the proof, move on.!

All the really cool lists have a bonus tip, so here’s mine, and it’s biggy!

11. Educate yourself. The well educated investors make their money off the uneducated investors. Luck will only carry you so far. You need to be a smart investor to survive and profit in the long term.

This list is so cool, I’ve decided to throw in a bonus bonus tip!

12. Take your time. Take your time before you jump into stock trading in the first place. Take your time choosing your online broker. Take the time to do your own market research. Take the time to learn all you can about the market you want to trade in.

As with anything else you do that involves money, you need to do a little homework to make sure that you find the online broker that best serves your needs, at a price you are happy with. Some research up front can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

About the Author:

David Neehly writes about the
Online Stock Trading
industry on his website, where you’ll find more great articles. Don’t forget to grab his FREE newsletter, it’s full of expert tips, freebies, and the latest news in the Online Stock Trading world.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Online Stock Trading – Finding The Right Broker

Virtual Share Trading
By Bruce Dartnell

Share trading is an extremely popular way for individuals to invest money. However, getting into the share market can be risky and requires a number of important skills. This is why virtual share trading is now becoming an extremely popular way to learn the skills necessary to minimize the risk of losing money.

Share trading games are computerized versions of the real thing. They provide players with a certain amount of virtual money to trade shares with over a set period of time. The great thing about these games is that if you lose then your money can be reset and you will get the chance to try again. If you lose, it’s just good practice and you won’t be losing any real money!

Share games are generally free to play, and there are many of these available online with some even providing a cash prize to the winner! Try and choose a game that suits your trading style as much as possible, and you could even try a few different games so find out which style of trading you are best at. Each game will also have its own individual rules, though most of them will be based on real markets. This will give you great practice before moving onto the real thing.

Once you have started using virtual share trading games you will be better positioned to learn the skills required to become a successful trader in the real markets. Everyone needs time to learn about the decision-making in the share markets, and these games are one of the best ways of doing this!

Find the BEST virtual share trading games at the authors share market website by clicking here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bruce_Dartnell

http://EzineArticles.com/?Virtual-Share-Trading&id=2393751

What is a good way to learn the stock market, trades etc?

is there a book i can buy and study? i dont know anything about stocks and all of that, and no one in my family knows about it.. i wanna study and learn all i can about it, i always read about people who invest in trades and sometimes it pays off, i just think it would be a good thing to kow and understand.

Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself. You must learn what to do, why to do it and how to do it before you actually do it.

Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

Here is some reading material that can get you started in the right direction,
The first book you should read is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Then try some of these
What Works on Wall Street by James O’Shaunessey
Beating the Street by Peter Lynch
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch
The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom
Trading For a Living by Alexander Elder
Mastering the Trade” by John Caster
How to Make Money in Stocks” by William O’Neil
24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success by William O’Neil
The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas

Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance. (http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp http://finance.yahoo.com/ )

While at MSN following the strategy lab analysts to get a feel for what the pros are doing and why. This site has some basic information for beginners. If any site offers free information, take it.

Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are
Investopedia – http://www.investopedia.com/ Stock Charts – http://stockcharts.com/
http://www.investorshub.com/ http://www.1source4stocks.com/

Visit some of the more professional websites like Zacks – http://www.zacks.com/
Smart Money – http://www.smartmoney.com/ Schaeffer’s – http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/
Some of these web sites will have advertisers who are worth looking into also. And remember, if they offer free information, get it.

Attend all the free seminars you can, just be careful and don’t get pressured into anything you really don’t want or need. Most schools offer courses in finance and economics, but very few will have courses on the mechanics of the investment markets, if they do try taking the course. You may want to consider on-line courses, the New York Institute of Finance use to have such courses. Try to get some fee information from the stocks exchanges they all have (had) free booklets, SIAC and some of the regulators (FINRA SEC MSRB CBOE) may provide some free literature.

You at least have made the right decision to start investing, this is the first big step and it won’t be your last. Keep taking those steps forward and along the way never take the advice from people that are not in the market or try to tell you not to invest. Good luck on your journey

The Best Stock Trading Programs
By Jonathan Langley

Stock trading programs have been giving that necessary edge to new traders as well as traders who have been in the market for some time but have yet to make their first real profit in the day trading market.

This is still a relatively new technology which was developed after years of trying to break the code of the day trading market so that traders could easily predict trends, trade accordingly, and capitalize. How it works is that a program uses complex mathematical algorithms which analyze past market data/substantial trends, they analyze the conditions which led to that trend, record them, then analyze current and real time market data to find similar patterns. Many of these stock trading programs continue to add to their databases infinitely, constantly becoming more complex and adept at finding profitable trends. Once it’s made these picks, it emails you the corresponding trade information so that you can act accordingly and place your trades.

Online stock trading programs have been growing increasingly popular since they first became available to traders. This can largely be attributed to the fact that their picks are based entirely on cold hard market data, thusly eliminating any possibility of guesswork or emotions factoring into trading which is a major asset to have.

Day Trading Robot is one of the best online stock trading programs for which I can personally attest for its effectiveness. It makes use of 23 winning trading strategies contributed from a longtime winning day trader who helped design the system. By placing each of its recommended trades, I have experienced a very agreeable 80% winning rate, or out of every 10 trades which Day Trading Robot recommends, I win 8 of them. Much like real traders, these programs are not right all the time, but the best ones win so many of their trades that the gains far outweigh the losses. As the technology continues to advance and the complex web of understanding how day trading markets react begins to unravel, we’ll see these programs continue to deliver better and more successful winning rates.

Give one of the best online stock trading programs a try. The best and most reputable ones guarantee your satisfaction with a full money back guarantee like Day Trading Robot. I wholly suggest you try one of these programs today as you have nothing to risk but everything to gain.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Langley

http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Best-Stock-Trading-Programs&id=2251085

For people who trade shares and invest in stock, having access to stock analysis tools is critical to success. Most of stock analysis tools available commercially are sold for hundreds of dollars, often out of reach for beginners. There is, however, a way to get the data and it comes from the most obvious place – Google.

Free Stock Analysis Tools

Google Finance stock analysis tools allows traders to view historical data of any public company listed on a stock market – including Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). They system provides historical data from today, back to day 1 when the company was first listed. The dynamic share price graph allows users to zoom-in on a particular day, week or a month. And that’s not it. Following the share price graph with the mouse pointer lets users to analyse the stock even more – it displays the share price and volume of shares sold and bought at any particular point of time. The share price graph has anchors which link to the company’s stock market announcements. The graph displays exactly when the market announcement was made and shows how the market reacted to it. Clicking on that anchor opens the actual text of the announcement.

How To Use It

1. Search for Google Finance
2. If you’re in Australia, don’t be alarmed by the US company sample data. To view ASX listed companies, just prefix the company code with an “ASX”.
3. So, to view Woolworth (WOW) share price, enter: ASX:WOW and hit “Get Quotes”
4. That’s it! Enjoy. Play with the graph (there is a slider at the bottom right corner. Drag it to select a period to zoom in).

Online Share Trading

If you are new to stock market, there are many companies that offer online share trading facilities. In Australia it is worth checking ComSec and eTrade. Both allow users to join online and start trading as soon as the sign up data verified by mail. ComSec, for example, includes two bank accounts – one for share trading and another for cash management purposes, with a high interest rate. The company also provides a free charge card to have immediate access to funds. The company provides market research facilities online, including market watch, historical graphs and access to companies’ stock market announcements.

Share trading can be done online via secure website, over the phone or using a specially created iPhone application that offers full functionality of online trading, anywhere you have access to mobile internet network.

For beginners, share trading can be an overwhelming experience, but the right tools make the journey so much easier and so much more enjoyable.