investing question?

Question

Im planning on trying my luck doing a little day trading. i will be using bank of america brokerage and will get the commission free trading. any suggestions on stock I should take a look at. stocks that are some what volatile that I could buy low sell for a small profit and do it again the next day.
dont worry people i am a long term investor. 90 percent of my money is tied up in index funds and some quality stocks like garmin for long term.

to common sense:
you wrote "With BOA you get 30 free trades a month. But it costs you the difference of earning 5.30% (like www.GMACBank.com) vs. their very small rate"

I put the 25,000$ you need to get free trades in one of bank of america's high yield cds which i locked in at 5.34 percent.
The cds count towards eligibility for commission free trades.

to everyone else who said that I shouldnt do this because day trading is very hard and i am doomed to fail:

I will be placing limit order trades and just set the limits for the highs and lows that I want to buy and sell at.
I feel that is somewhat safer. I will try to buy on a down day and place a limit order sell for like a dollar or 2 above the price i bought it for depending on the stock price of course. The gains wont be too big but at least ill have no commssions eating away my gains.
what do u guys think of that?? still bad idea?

Answer 1

Picking a trend in just one day is almost impossible. You don't want to hear this, but starting out daytrading like this, you are like a little league football player lining up against the pros.

When you spread your time frame out a bit, you even the odds a little more and give yourself a better chance. It's still not easy, but why start off against impossible odds?

Here's some ideas that might help you manage risk a little better and actually have a chance: http://www.srsfinance.com/Smart_Money_Principle.html

Sorry if I'm raining on your parade. I don't mean to. GRMN, BTW, looks great. Just make sure you keep a stop loss under $95 and trail that up higher as the price moves higher. Nothing worse than letting a winner turn into a loser.

Best of luck

Answer 2

Start off by reading:
The Disciplined Trader (Mark Douglas).

2nd.,
With BOA you get 30 free trades a month. But it costs you the difference of earning 5.30% (like www.GMACBank.com) vs. their very small rate. And you pay after 30 trades (small number for a swing or day trader).
Day Trading or Swing Trading is better done with a "real" broker that can give you the support needed by traders like us.

I use www.ThinkOrSwim.com (#1 software based broker, as per Barrons). Get a paper trading account with them, check it out. Check out the "ShadowTrader" on the platform. He's on from 9:15AM to 4:05PM EDT. The ShadowTrader gives minute by minute explanations on what's happing in the market as well as trade ideas. TOS has a lot of other great support for free, the "Prophet" charts are outstanding.

I've been investing for 30+ years and also have a "regular" portfolio for "position" trading.
If you go for TOS, let me know by email. I'm also new to this (April 2007) & would love to discuss ideas.

Answer 3

You should be aware that this is an inherently risky practice and is not suitable for the average investor. That said, FosterWheeler (FWLT) is a great infrastructure play that has been quite volatile lately that promises to make a fine trade or long term investment. You should also consider GameStop (GME) only until the Halo (for xbox) is released, they have far more to gain than does MSFT from this unbelievably popular game. Also consider First Solar (FSLR) it tends to trade with oil, that is oil up it goes down and vice versa. Goldman Sachs (GS) should benefit from the impending rate cut and should see a fair rise. When Bernanke cuts interest rates on sep 18th any sector other than housing will be printing money.

Answer 4

To get greater returns, you are able to desire to settle for greater hazard. do not start up purchasing guy or woman shares. you're competing against investment professionals, and you will not win. purchase a maket index ETF like QQQ, which invests in an index and has very low expenditures. you're making an investment contained available in the industry as an entire. Or, purchase a mutual fund, and you pay a value (a share of you funds) to the managers for selecting your shares. in case you think of which you will decide on the specialist which will p.c.. shares greater beneficial than all the different professionals, then purchase a mutual fund, and the greater beneficial return would be rather well worth the greater beneficial expenditures. do not fool your self into thinking which you will p.c.. shares greater beneficial than the professionals. If there become a severe-return, low-hazard investment, the professionals could have already got jumped on it, bidding up the cost until the expeected return matched the predicted hazard. Open a Roth IRA. placed funds into it. you will not get a tax deduction now, however the money will advance tax-loose, and once you're taking the money out, you will not pay tax on it. Your tax value once you retire is particularly much honestly going to be greater than your tax value now, so this is a solid deal. (in case you think of your tax value would be decrease in retirement, placed you funds right into a conventional IRA, which supplies you a deduction now, however the money is taxed as conventional earnings now once you're taking it out at retirement.) placed the money into an index ETF like QQQ. do not sell each time the industry drops. you prefer to purchase low and sell severe, and merchandising whilst the industry drops is the alternative of that.

Answer 5

Look into the " shipping" sector....some of them flucuate week in and week out. TBSI is one that has been as low as $27.00 and as high as$41.00 in the past eight/ nine weeks. Up and down about three very good moves...if you can look for signals/patterns you can make 5 or 6 bucks a share in a couple of days.
Also TNH...up and down ..down.4 bucks, up 7 bucks, down 3 etc. etc.
As for the other 90%... get some international exposure in funds... and EMC is a nice quality stock ( sitting on a gold mine..VMW )
Just a couple of thoughts...good luck.
P.S. Get into some good dividend stuff for your long term, too. PCU is one...pretty high right now, but any dip to 97 or even 98 would be a " fair" buy.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

the last one has it right. trying your luck is NOT how to day trade.

Also thinkorswim has NO CLUE what an ETF is. I didn't stay with them long after they said the ETF I wanted was a pink sheet stock.

Answer 8

You're going to "try luck" at day trading. You're doomed from the start. Day trading required imense skill.

Answer 9

I will simply advise you ... DO NOT TRY. Put your money in other safer places like mutual funds, 401k , etc. You cannot make money in the stocks and shares market.

Answer 10

Look at stocks like AWRE and EGLS.