Day traders, in general, are looking for quick money. Normally, I would buy and sell in the same session, but no longer than the third session. If the stock tumbled, I would cash in to curb my loss, otherwise, I was in for the long haul. A day trader has to decide on what stocks he is going to buy before opening, unless something geopolitical pops up during the session that may effect a price change and you can get in or out of a stock. Basically, you have to had done your homework and know what stocks you will buy on open and then decide how much of a return is your threshold. Some will take 5% while others want maybe 10-15%. Unless the market is having a run up in that particular session, 15% may be an unreal expectation. You also have to take in account your trading fee and capital gains tax to arrive at our net gain.
When I was really into day trading gung ho, I would have spent a lot of time watching and maybe charting my picks. There are companies out there that do this for you and of course, most financial websites will show a stock history for hours, days, weeks and years. I went to a seminar that was held here in my area and Peter Lynch, who started the Magellan Fund at Fidelity was the guest speaker. He made the comment that many good investments can be discovered by the trader, if he keeps his eyes and ears open. He gave the example of the one time when he went shopping with his wife at the mall and as he walked around and sat in the common area and watched people, he would see a lot of women go in and out of "The Limited." The more he thought about the idea of buying the stock, the more liked it, so he bought a boat load and hit a homerun, which in investor's language means that he doubled his money. How long it took, I don't know.
A good day trader always keeps his ear to the ground and his nose in the air, or so I have been told. A good trader puts in the time and reaps the rewards. The day trader has to know what sector or what stock is hot. I bought Facebook at 30 couple of dollars when my broker told me to hold off because they felt the stock was a fad and people would lose interest causing the stock to bomb. I sold it at $80 couple of dollars and today the stock is about $110.00. OTOH, I bought Sirius-XM at $3.50 and it has gone nowhere. It just sits there spinning its wheels.
Practicing on paper is a good way to learn about the ups and downs, but reality is life's best teacher in this business. If you are afraid of losing your money, go to the casino and see if you can do better. Oh, and BTW, gaming stocks are generally a good buy, or have been in the past a good buy this time of the year, just before the vacationers go to Vegas. If I was to buy an oil stock, I think BP and/or Exxon-Mobil would be my play. If you are never sure what a stock may do and you like it and buy it, maybe you should consider buying the 'puts' to go with it, if you believe the stock will fall. Otherwise, don't buy the stock, just buy the call and hope the stock goes above the strike price and then purchase and sell the stock, all in the same session.
Enjoy!
