Beginning day traders should always start trading with a single contract (or group of 100 shares, or single forex lot), but as they become more experienced, they will be able to trade multiple contracts, and take advantage of the benefits that multiple contracts provide.

When traded correctly, there are several advantages to trading multiple contracts, including increased profit, and improved risk to reward ratios. An explanation of the benefits of trading multiple contracts, along with descriptions of two multiple contract strategies, can be found in the trading multiple contracts article.

Even if you are still a beginning day trader, the information about trading multiple contracts will help you think like a professional trader, which should also improve your single contract trading.

As many of you know, I am in the process of opening a live trading room for the day trading site, and was initially expecting the trading room to open in March. Unfortunately, the Gatherplace software did not work as I had expected it to, and had some problems that made it unsuitable for the trading room, so the opening of the trading room was delayed. As soon as I have found an alternative service to host the trading room, I will post information for accessing the trading room to the day trading blog and the day trading newsletter.

This week there are several news releases from each region (US, Europe, and Asia), and each region also has a few high volatility news releases, so markets throughout the world should experience some decent price movement this week.

As day traders are usually technical analysis traders rather than fundamentals traders, day traders will find the news release schedule and the volatility expectations more interesting and useful than the actual news release.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is 2 hours behind Central European Time, and 4 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

US

• Monday : No news releases
• Tuesday : Central Bank News Conference at 10:10 AM, Central Bank News Conference at 12:20 PM, Retail Sales, and Import Price Index at 12:30 PM, Business Inventories at 2:00 PM, and Central Bank News Conference at 5:30 PM
• Wednesday : CPI at 12:30 PM, and Oil Inventories at 2:30 PM
• Thursday : Business Conditions Index, and Initial Claims at 12:30 PM, Long Term Transactions at 1:00 PM, Capacity Utilization Rate, and Industrial Production at 1:15 PM, Central Bank News Conference at 1:30 PM, Manufacturing Index at 2:00 PM, and Housing Market Index at 5:00 PM
• Friday : Building Permits, and Housing Starts at 12:30 PM, and Consumer Sentiment at 2:00 PM

• This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several high volatility news releases this week, so the US markets should experience some significant price movement (both up and down) throughout the week.

Europe

• Monday : Italy Industrial Production at 8:00 AM, UK PPI, and Trade Balance at 8:30 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 3:00 PM
• Tuesday : UK CPI, House Price Index, and RPI at 8:30 AM
• Wednesday : France CPI at 6:40 AM, UK Average Earnings Index, Claimant Count Change, and Unemployment Rate at 8:30 AM, EU Industrial Production at 9:00 AM, and UK Inflation Report at 9:30 AM
• Thursday : Switzerland Consumer Climate at 5:45 AM, Germany GDP at 6:00 AM, France GDP at 6:45 AM, Switzerland Central Bank News Conference, and EU CPI, and GDP at 9:00 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 11:40 AM
• Friday : France Non Farm Employment at 6:45 AM, Switzerland Retail Sales at 7:15 AM, Italy Trade Balance at 8:00 AM, and EU Trade Balance at 9:00 AM

• This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are only a couple of high volatility news releases this week, but the EU markets should still experience some significant price movement this week.

Asia

• Monday : Australia Home Loans, and Business Confidence at 1:30 AM, Japan Central Bank News Conference at 3:00 AM, Japan Economy Watchers Index at 5:00 AM, Japan Machine Tool Orders at 6:00 AM, and New Zealand FPI at 10:45 PM
• Tuesday : Japan CGPI, and Current Account at 11:50 PM
• Wednesday : Australia Consumer Sentiment at 12:30 AM, Australia WPI at 1:30 AM, New Zealand Retail Sales at 10:45 PM, and Japan Machinery Orders at 11:50 PM
• Thursday : New Zealand Manufacturing Index at 12:00 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 10:30 AM, New Zealand PPI at 10:45 PM, and Japan GDP at 11:50 PM
• Friday : Japan Industrial Production at 4:30 AM, Japan Household Confidence at 5:00 AM, and Australia Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown time)

• This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are only a couple of high volatility news releases this week, but the Asian markets should still experience some significant price movement this week.

All day traders have losing trades, because no trading system is correct 100% of the time. As long as these losing trades are managed correctly, they are a normal part of day trading and nothing to be concerned about. However, when traders start using techniques such as averaging down to manage their losing trades, the previously normal losing trades can quickly become a big problem.

A full description of averaging down, with an explanation of why it is mistakenly used, and why it should be avoided, is available in the averaging down glossary entry.

There is another holiday this week, but even so, there are several news releases from each region (US, Europe, and Asia). Each region also has a few high volatility news releases, so markets throughout the world should experience some decent price movement this week.

As day traders can trade in both directions (long and short), they do not usually care what the news actually is, only whether the news will cause the markets to experience volatility in one direction or the other. For this reason, day traders will find the volatility expectations more interesting and useful than the actual news release.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is 2 hours behind Central European Time, and 4 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

US

• Monday : ISM Non Manufacturing, and TAF Auction at 2:00 PM
• Tuesday : Central Bank News Conference at 12:30 AM
• Wednesday : Non Farm Productivity, and Labor Costs at 12:30 PM, Central Bank News Conference at 12:45 PM, Pending Home Sales at 2:00 PM, Oil Inventories at 2:30 PM, Consumer Credit at 7:00 PM, and GDP Estimate at 11:01 PM
• Thursday : Initial Claims at 12:30 PM, and Wholesale Inventories at 2:00 PM
• Friday : Trade Balance at 12:30 PM

• This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are a few high volatility news releases this week, so the US markets should experience some decent price movement throughout the week.

Europe

• Monday : EU Investor Confidence at 8:30 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
• Tuesday : Switzerland CPI at 5:45 AM, EU PMI Services at 8:00 AM, UK PMI Services at 8:30 AM, EU PPI at 9:00 AM, and UK Consumer Confidence at 11:01 PM
• Wednesday : France Budget Balance, and Trade Balance at 6:45 AM, UK Industrial Production, and Manufacturing Production at 8:30 AM, EU Retail Sales at 9:00 AM, UK Shop Price Index at 9:30 AM, and Germany Factory Orders at 10:00 AM
• Thursday : Switzerland Unemployment Rate at 5:45 AM, Germany Trade Balance at 6:00 AM, Germany Industrial Production at 10:00 AM, UK Interest Rates at 11:00 AM, EU Minimum Bid Rate at 11:45 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 12:30 PM
• Friday : France Industrial Production at 6:45 AM

• This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. Even with the UK holiday on Monday, there are a few high volatility news releases this week, so the EU markets should experience some decent price movement this week.

Asia

• Monday : Australia Inflation Gauge at 12:30 AM, Australia House Price Index at 1:30 AM, and New Zealand Commodity Price Index at 3:00 AM,
• Tuesday : Australia Trade Balance at 1:30 AM, Australia Interest Rates at 4:30 AM, and Australia PMI Construction at 11:30 PM
• Wednesday : New Zealand Unemployment Rate, and Unemployment Change at 10:45 PM
• Thursday : Australia Unemployment Change, and Unemployment Rate at 1:30 AM
• Friday : Australia Monetary Policy at 1:30 AM, and Japan Leading Index at 5:00 AM

• This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are a few high volatility news releases this week, so the Asian markets should experience some decent price movement this week.

Both short term and long term traders often like to know the general sentiment of the markets (e.g. are they going up, is trading volume increasing, are other traders pensive or bold?). As a result there are several indicators that have been developed to gauge the overall condition of the markets. These indicators include the Trin, the Ticks, and the Tiki (collectively known as the market internals), various pre-open volume measurements (such as the volume from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM Eastern Time), and something called open interest.

Open interest is a calculation of the number of currently active trades for a particular market. Open interest is calculated using futures and options contracts, so open interest is available for most of the popular futures and options markets (such as the index and currency futures markets). Open interest compares the rates at which new trades are being opened, and existing trades are being closed, so it shows whether trading activity is increasing or decreasing, which can be very useful in determining the upcoming market conditions.

The full definition of open interest, along with a description of how open interest is calculated, and examples of how it is used in trading, can be found in the open interest glossary entry.

This Thursday is May 1st, which is a holiday in Europe and Asia, but not in the US. Whenever there is a holiday in any of the trading regions (US, Europe, or Asia), markets throughout the world are affected (even those that are still open).

European and Asian markets will be closed on Thursday, and even though the US markets will be open, the missing European and Asian traders will cause the US markets to trade differently than usual.

Friday is not a holiday, and the European and Asian markets will be open, but many traders will take fours day off (Thursday through Sunday), so trading on Friday may be lighter than usual (i.e. may have lower volume).

Whether the holiday affects your trading depends upon the markets that you trade, your trading style, and your trading system. If you do not yet know how holidays affect your trading, just be aware that you may need to make some adjustments to your trading to compensate.

Even with the holiday on May 1st (Thursday), there are still several news releases from each region this week. Each region also has a couple of high volatility news releases, so markets from each region (US, Europe, and Asia) should experience some significant price movement this week.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is 2 hours behind Central European Time, and 4 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

US

• Monday : No news releases
• Tuesday : HPI Composite at 1:00 PM, and Consumer Confidence at 2:00 PM
• Wednesday : Non Farm Employment Change at 12:15 PM, Advance GDP, and ECI at 12:30 PM, Oil Inventories at 2:30 PM, PMI at 2:45 PM, and FOMC Statement, and Federal Funds Rate at 6:15 PM
• Thursday : Job Cuts at 11:30 AM, Personal Spending, PCE Price Index, Initial Claims, and Personal Income at 12:30 PM, ISM Manufacturing, and Construction Spending at 2:00 PM, and Vehicle Sales at 6:00 PM
• Friday : Non Farm Employment Change, Unemployment Rate, and Average Hourly Earnings at 12:30 PM, and Factory Orders at 2:00 PM

• This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several high volatility news releases this week, so the US markets should experience some decent price movement throughout the week.

Europe

• Monday : Switzerland Central Bank News Conference, and Germany Consumer Confidence at 6:00 AM, EU Central Bank News Conference at 7:00 AM, and Germany CPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown time)
• Tuesday : Switzerland Consumption Indicator at 8:00 AM, UK Money Supply, Mortgage Approvals, and Lending to Individuals at 8:30 AM, UK Central Bank News Conference at 8:45 AM, UK Distributive Trades at 10:00 AM, UK MPC News Conference at 5:00 PM, and UK Consumer Confidence at 11:01 PM
• Wednesday : UK House Prices at ??:?? ?? (Unknown time), Germany Unemployment Rate at 7:55 AM, EU CPI Estimate, Consumer Confidence, Italy CPI, and EU Unemployment Rate at 9:00 AM, Switzerland Leading Index at 9:30 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 11:55 AM
• Thursday : UK PMI Manufacturing at 8:30 AM
• Friday : Germany Retail Sales at 6:00 AM, Switzerland PMI at 7:30 AM, EU PMI Manufacturing at 8:00 AM, and UK PMI Construction at 8:30 AM

• This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are a few high volatility news releases this week, so the EU markets should experience some decent price movement this week.

Asia

• Monday : New Zealand Trade Balance at 10:45 PM
• Tuesday : Australia Business Confidence at 1:30 AM, New Zealand Building Consents at 10:45 PM, Japan PMI Manufacturing at 11:15 PM, Japan Household Spending, and Unemployment Rate at 11:30 PM, and Japan Industrial Production at 11:50 PM
• Wednesday : Japan Interest Rates at ??:?? ?? (Unknown time), New Zealand Business Confidence at 3:00 AM, Japan Housing Starts at 5:00 AM, Japan Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown time), and Australia PMI Manufacturing at 11:30 PM
• Thursday : Australia Building Approvals, and Japan Average Cash Earnings at 1:30 AM, and Japan Monetary Base at 11:50 PM
• Friday : Australia Retail Sales at 1:30 AM

• This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are a few high volatility news releases this week, so the Asian markets should experience some decent price movement this week.

Many day traders are interested in automated trading, where their trading systems are traded automatically by a computer program. For traders that have some experience with computer programming, there are several pieces of automated trading software available. One example is TradeStation, which includes a proprietary programming language called EasyLanguage, that can be used for trading system testing and live trading. However, for traders that do not have any computer programming experience, there were not any pieces of automated trading software available ... until recently.

TickTrader is a relatively new piece of automated trading software, that can be used to develop, test, and trade automated trading systems, without any computer programming experience. Instead of a programming language, TickTrader uses a visual interface, where traders can choose the criteria that they want to use in their trading system, and then test and trade their new trading system, without knowing anything about computer programming.

If you are a day trader that would like to use automated trading, but do not have any computer programming experience, TickTrader may be able to help you. Further information about TickTrader (such as some of its main features, and its system requirements) is available in the Introduction to TickTrader article, and the TickTrader software can be downloaded from the TickTrader web site.

Market Profile, TPO, Volume Profile ... It has lots of different names, but what exactly is it, and how can it be used in day trading?

Market profile is a type of chart that is used to see where (at what price) and when (at what time) most of the trading is occuring. By using market profile charts, traders can see exactly where other traders are making their trades, and where the most recent support and resistance levels are.

A description of market profile charts, with explanations of how they are interpreted, and suggestions for how they can be used in trading, is available in the market profile article.