Playing the stock market?

Question

When playing the stock market what is some of the key points to look for when buying and selling?

Answer 1

By "playing" the market, we assume you want to trade or speculate--something often distinctly different from investing.

The two most common lines of direction are (1) buy what the crowd is buying, or (2) buy good companies that seem to have been beatend down too far.

Some day traders I know will watch for things that have massive volume and upward momentum, then hitch a ride with it, selling out in the afternoon or the next day or two (especially in the case of surprises, where some phenomenal new news could support a spurt for several days), ostensibly for a profit. Others look at the same for signs of exhuberance, great news and it shoots high and higher, so then they look for a chance to sell short or watch for the equally, if not more abrupt, dip where the first group does its sell-off. Reasons for upward motion have been established, now the short-timers are headed for the exits, so here is a place to get it fairly cheap. However, momentum could have been shot and your stock hangs in the doldrums until the next piece of good news lifts the boat, or sinks it.

If you borrow from the investing side of the market, look only for companies that make profits and appear to be able to continue to make profits, then even if it falls for a while, you know that eventually it must rise to reflect the stock's intrisic value. I know that is as boring as watching paint dry, but you get to stay in the game a little longer than most. Try a simulator like virtualstockexchange.com, smartstocks.com, or something like the zacks.com Challenge (Cramer did one a while back too). Practice a strategy until you get the feel of things. Then, when you kinda feel like you are onto something, you might risk a little of your risk money "playing the stock market". On the otherhand, you can feel freer to risk if your alternative was to visit Las Vegas, even wild stock market picks will trend you better rewards than the slots or tables, and again, you get to play longer. I would hope you are more practical than that and instead look for opportunities to get into a company that is doing something special or especially well, however. Either way, good luck.

Answer 2

The Stock Market IS NOT A GAME.

Answer 3

The number one keypoint for buying is to remember "the trend is your friend".

Like water, the stock will follow the least path of resistance. If the trend is going up it is more likely to go up. If the trend is going down, it is more likely to go down.

You can tell the trend of a stock by looking at a chart and looking at the 30 day moving average. If it is going up, then the trend is up. Another way to check the trend of a stock is to make sure it is getting higher highs and higher lows than previously.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

if you have the money, but don't know where to invest, please invest it in education first.
i think the key points is the price, whether the price is cheap or expensive. if it's cheap, you buy, and vice verse.

Answer 6

just look how other are doing and follow them