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Day Trading: Most Popular Articles

These articles are the most popular over the last month.
Day Trading Tools
List of the tools needed for day trading, with minimum specifications and recommendations. Includes discussions of day trading computers, Internet access, brokerages, trading and charting software, and market data.
What is Day Trading?
Explanation of what day trading actually is, and how it relates to other styles of trading. Includes some of the differences between day trading styles, types of trade, and day traders' personalities.
Call and Put
Definition of related options phrases such as Call, Put, in the money, out of the money, strike price, option exercise, and expiration date.
What are Futures?
Description of futures markets and contracts. Lists some of the most popular futures markets. Explains how futures trading symbols are constructed, and how tick values are calculated.
Day Trading Charts
Descriptions of bar, candlestick, and line charts, with the trading information that they represent, and instructions for reading and interpreting them during trading.
Tick Size and Tick Value
Definition of the futures terms tick size and tick value, and examples of their use in trading.
Interactive Brokers
Profile of the direct access broker Interactive Brokers or IB. Includes information about opening an account, trading fees, trading software, and reliability.
Day Trading Computer
Description of day trading computers, including laptops and desktops, with recommendations for the minimum specifications that are suitable for day trading.
Day Trading Restrictions
Description of the SEC day trading restrictions that apply to US stocks and stock markets.
Day Trading Markets
Introduction to the markets that are available to day traders, including some popular futures, options, currencies, and stock markets.
Trading Software
Description of day trading software, including brokerage provided and third party software.
Currency Futures
Description of currency futures markets, and how they differ from currency markets (Forex). Includes a list of the most popular currency futures markets, with links to their market profiles, and contract specifications.
Pivot Point Bounce
Step by step tutorial of the pivot point bounce trade, including detailed instructions and charts of a real trade made using the pivot point bounce trading system.
Candlestick Charts
Description of candlestick charts, including the trading information that they represent, and the timeframes that they can be based upon.
Reading a Candlestick Chart
Instructions for reading a candlestick chart, including descriptions of each section of a candlestick, and how to determine the direction and range of a candlestick.
Day Trading Brokerage
Description of day trading brokerages, and why direct access brokers are the more suitable than traditional brokers. Includes links to profiles and reviews of some of the most popular day trading brokerages.
Futures Contracts
Description of futures contracts, including the information that they provide, and where they can be found.
Order Book
Definition of the day trading terms order book, level 2 market data, and depth of market.
How Futures are Traded
Discussion of how futures markets are traded, including descriptions of futures contracts, and long and short trades.
Moving Average Bounce
Step by step tutorial of the moving average bounce trade, including detailed instructions and charts of a real trade made using the moving average bounce trading system.
Profile of the DAX
Profile of the DAX futures market, including the companies included in the DAX stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Day Trading Order Types
Description of the day trading order types that are combined to make a complete trade. Includes market, limit, stop, stop limit, market if touched, and limit if touched orders.
Low Risk Stock Investing
Description of an options strategy that is used to invest in stock with less margin and less risk, with an example of a trade made using the options strategy.
Double Moving Average Bounce
Step by step tutorial of a variation of the moving average bounce trading system, known as the double moving average bounce. The tutorial includes detailed instructions of each step of the trading system, and charts of a real trade made using the double moving average bounce trading system.
Day Trading Market Data
Description of day trading market data, and the trading information that market data provides. Includes profiles of the most popular market data feeds, with the markets that they offer, their monthly fees, and their software and programming interfaces.
TRIX Reversal
Step by step tutorial of the TRIX reversal trade, including detailed instructions and charts of a real trade made using the TRIX reversal trading system.
Zero Line Cross
Step by step tutorial of the zero line cross trade, including detailed instructions and charts of a real trade made using the zero line cross trading system.
Moving Averages
Description of simple, exponential, and weighted moving averages, including definitions, calculations, and their basic use in trading.
Description of Options Markets
Description of options markets and contracts, and how they differ from futures markets. Lists some European and US style options markets. Explains how options trading symbols are constructed, and how tick values are calculated.
Profile of the ES
Profile of the ES futures market, including the companies included in the S&P 500 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Profile of the ER2
Profile of the ER2 futures market, including the companies included in the Russell 2000 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Bar Charts
Description of bar charts, including the trading information that they represent, and the timeframes that they can be based upon.
Strike Price and Expiration
Definition of related options phrases such as Call, Put, in the money, out of the money, strike price, option exercise, and expiration date.
How Options are Traded
Discussion of how options markets are traded, including descriptions of options contracts, long and short trades, call and put contracts, and options premiums.
Charting Software
Description of day trading charting software, including brokerage provided and third party software.
Commodity Channel Index (CCI)
Description of the Commodity Channel Index (CCI), including definition, calculation, and its basic use in trading.
Pivot Points
Description of Pivot Points, including definition, calculation, and their basic use in trading.
Buying Stock Using Options
Explanation of how to buy stock using stock options, including the price advantages that this strategy can provide, and an example of a trade made using the stock options strategy.
Geographical Location
Discussion of the geographical locations of various day trading markets, and how that affects their suitability for beginning or experienced day traders.
TradeStation Securities
Profile of the direct access broker TradeStation Securities or simply TradeStation. Includes information about opening an account, trading fees, trading software, and reliability.
Buying and Selling Volume
Description of buying and selling volume, including how each type of volume affects the current market price.
Day Trading Stock Markets
Description of stocks markets and their suitability for day trading, including minimum trading deposit, margin, and SEC imposed day trading restrictions.
Profile of the NQ
Profile of the NQ futures market, including the companies included in the NASDAQ 100 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Market Data Definition
Description of day trading market data, including the different levels of market data, and the trading information that each level of market data provides.
Choosing a Market
Discussion of the best markets for beginning day traders, including criteria such as initial trading deposit, personality, tick values, and geographical location.
Tick Charts
Description of trading charts based upon ticks (number of trades), including their advantages and disadvantages compared to time charts.
Profile of the YM
Profile of the YM futures market, including the companies included in the Dow Jones stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
IB's Market Data
Description of Interactive Brokers' market data feed, including the available markets, the monthly fees, and the software and programming interface.
Profile of the EUR
Profile of the EUR futures market, including the exchange rate that the market is based upon, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
News or Technical Analysis
Discussion of the differences between fundamental analysis and technical analysis, and which type is better suited for day trading.
Uptick Rule
Definition of the US stock market uptick rule, and a discussion of whether the removal of the uptick rule has increased or decreased US stock market volatility.
Choosing a Day Trading Market
Discussion of the best markets for beginning day traders, including criteria like initial trading deposit, personality, tick values, and geographical location.
Reading a Bar Chart
Instructions for reading a bar chart, including descriptions of each section of a bar, and how to determine the direction and range of a bar.
Time Charts
Description of day trading charts based upon time, such as short term timeframes like seconds and minutes, and long term timeframes such as hours and days.
Initial and Maintenance Margin
Discussion of the initial and maintenance margin requirements of various day trading markets, and their suitability for beginning day traders.
Long and Short
Definition of the futures terms long and short, and examples of their use in day trading.
Trading Style
Discussion of the trading style and type of movement of various day trading markets, and their suitability for beginning day traders.
Commodity Futures
Description of commodity futures markets, with lists of the most popular commodity futures markets, and links to their market profiles and contract specifications.
What are Currencies?
Description of the currency (or forex) markets, where one currency is traded for a different currency. Includes a list of popular currency markets, and trading recommendations between currency and futures markets.
The Bid, Ask, and Last
Definition of the market prices known as the bid price, the ask price, and the last price, with an explanation of how these prices affect day trading.
Volume Charts
Description of trading charts based upon volume (number of contracts), including their advantages and disadvantages compared to time charts.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
Description of the Relative Strength Index (RSI), including definition, calculation, and its basic use in trading.
Arbitrage
Definition of arbitrage with examples of how it can be used in day trading.
Telephone
Explanation of why a telephone is needed during day trading, with recommendations for the best type of telephone.
Profile of the HSI
Profile of the HSI futures market, including the companies included in the Hang Seng stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Time Frames and Indicators
Discussion of adjusting trading system time frames and indicators to suit different markets.
Binary Betting
Description of binary betting, its advantages and disadvantages, and how it can be used as an alternative to regular day trading.
Forex or Currency Futures?
Description of the currency markets, including the differences between Forex and futures markets, and recommendations for the best choices for individual day traders.
Market Profile Charts
Description of market profile charts, with explanations of the information that they provide, and examples of how they are used in day trading.
Indicator Settings
Descriptions of the settings used by technical analysis indicators such as the Commodity Channel Index (CCI), with examples of how to configure the indicators for different results.
Making your First Trade
A step by step tutorial to making your first real trade, whether in simulation or live. Includes descriptions of each step, and images of the trading software and charting software at each step.
Bull Call Spread
Description of the basic options strategy known as a bull call spread, including instructions for making a bull call spread trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of bull call spreads.
Peregrine Financial Group (US)
Profile of the direct access broker Peregrine Financial Group or PFG. Includes information about opening an account, trading fees, trading software, and reliability.
Market Data
Description of day trading market data, with suggestions for market data feeds that are suitable for day trading.
Stock Options
Description of stock options' markets, including an explanation of stock options' contracts, strike prices, options expirations, and exercising stock options.
Internet Access
Description of the type of Internet access that is most suitable for day trading.
Line Charts
Description of line charts, including the trading information that they represent, and the timeframes that they can be based upon.
Day Trading Seminars
Discussion of day trading seminars, and whether they are the best way of learning day trading. Topics covered include recommendations for choosing a suitable seminar, and suggestions for the amount of money that a day trading seminar should cost.
IQFeed's Market Data
Description of IQFeed's market data feed, including the available markets, the monthly fees, and the software and programming interface.
Profit and Loss Potential
Discussion of the profit and loss potential of various day trading markets, and their suitability for beginning day traders.
European or US Style Options
Description of the difference between European and US style options, and list of popular futures and cash settled options in both styles.
MACD
Description of the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) indicator, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Short Covered Put
Description of the basic options strategy known as a short covered put, including instructions for making a short covered put trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of short covered puts.
Stochastic Oscillator
Description of the Stochastic Oscillator indicator, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Fibonacci Numbers
Description of the Fibonacci numbers, including their history, calculation, and examples of their use in day trading.
Profile of the SMI
Profile of the SMI futures market, including the companies included in the SMI stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Trading in Simulation
Description of trading in simulation, and its advantages over trading live when making your first few trades.
Parabolic Stop and Reverse
Description of the Parabolic SAR (Parabolic Stop and Reverse) indicator, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Volatility Ratio
Description of the Volatility Ratio indicator, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Spread
Definition of the day trading term spread (or bid and ask spread), including what causes a small and large spread, and how they affect trading.
Opening Gap
Definition of the day trading terms opening gap and price gap, with descriptions of the most common types of gap.
Trading Logs
Discussion of trading logs, including the information that a trading log should include, and the different formats that a trading log can be stored in.
NobleTrading
Profile of the day trading brokerage NobleTrading, including information about opening an account, trading fees, trading software, and reliability.
Profile of the CAC40
Profile of the CAC40 futures market, including the companies included in the CAC40 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Directional Movement Index
Description of the Directional Movement Index (DMI), including definition, calculation, and its basic use in trading.
Drawing Upward Trend Lines
Step by step tutorial explaining how to draw upward trend lines on graphical price charts, with complete instructions and example charts of each step.
Transact Futures
Profile of the direct access broker Transact Futures. Includes information about opening an account, trading fees, trading software, and reliability.
Swing Trading
Definition of the style of trading known as swing trading, with examples of the types of trade that fit within this medium term trading style.
Bull Put Spread
Description of the basic options strategy known as a bull put spread, including instructions for making a bull put spread trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of bull put spreads.
Open Interest
Definition of open interest, with explanations of how open interest is calculated and interpreted.
Live Trading Room
Definition of a live trading room, with examples of different types of live trading room.
Profile of the ZG
Profile of the ZG futures market, including the commodity that the market is based upon, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Trading Stock Indexes
Discussion of trading stock indexes using futures and options markets, including charting the stock indexes while trading the futures and options markets.
Reading a Line Chart
Instructions for reading a line chart, including how to determine the direction of a line.
NewsScope - Sentiment Analysis
Description of Reuters' automated news services, NewsScope and Sentiment Analysis, including how they work, the information that they provide, their formats, and their availability.
Fear and Greed
Discussion of the emotions of fear and greed, and how they affect traders and day trading.
Trend Lines
Series of articles about trend lines, including the information that they represent, tutorials for drawing trend lines, and examples of trading using trend lines.
In and Out of the Money
Definition of related options phrases such as Call, Put, in the money, out of the money, strike price, option exercise, and expiration date.
Stop Loss
Definition of the day trading term stop loss, with descriptions of the two most common types of stop loss, and a discussion of whether or not a stop loss should be used.
Reading a Candlestick
Explanation of candlestick charts with descriptions of each piece of information that a single candlestick represents.
Profile of the Z
Profile of the Z futures market, including the companies included in the FTSE 100 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Profile of the GBP
Profile of the GBP futures market, including the exchange rate that the market is based upon, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Trin
Description of the market internal known as the Trin, with explanation of how it applies to day trading.
Increasing Targets
Discussion of target orders, with an explanation of why a trader would increase their target order, but why increasing your target would be a mistake.
Day Trading Style
Definition of the style of trading known as day trading, with examples of the types of trade that fit within this short term trading style.
Starting Live Trading
Discussion of the emotions that occur when new traders move from simulation trading to live trading, and the mistakes that these emotions can cause.
Range Charts
Description of trading charts based upon price range (difference between high and low prices), including their advantages and disadvantages compared to time charts.
Weather Futures
Introduction to the weather futures markets offered by the CME (CME Group), including the weather events and locations that can be traded, and examples of why the weather futures might be traded (aside from day trading).
Ticks
Description of the market internal known as the Ticks, with explanation of how it applies to day trading.
Market Scanners
Description of market scanners, with instructions for how they are used in day trading, and explanations of the criteria that they can use.
Momentum
Description of the Momentum indicator, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Accumulation Distribution
Description of Accumulation Distribution, including definition, calculation, and its basic use in trading.
Short Covered Call
Description of the basic options strategy known as a short covered call, including instructions for making a short covered call trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of short covered calls.
Reading a Bar
Explanation of bar charts with descriptions of each piece of information that a single bar represents.
TRIX
Description of the TRIX, including its definition, calculation, and basic use in trading.
Trading Multiple Contracts
Discussion of the advantages of trading multiple contracts, with a suggestion for a multiple contract strategy that can significantly improve the risk to reward ratio.
Tiki
Description of the market internal known as the Ticks, with explanation of how it applies to day trading.
Long Call Butterfly Spread
Description of the neutral options strategy known as a long call butterfly spread, including instructions for making a long call butterfly spread trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of long call butterfly spreads.
Profile of the ZC
Profile of the ZC futures market (corn), including the commodity that the market is based upon, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Day Trading Virtues
Discussion of the personality traits of patience, decisiveness, and calmness, and how they are necessary for successful day trading.
Trend Line Breaks
Definition of trend line breaks, including why they occur, and examples of how they can be used as part of a trading system.
Profile of the OMXS30
Profile of the OMXS30 futures market, including the companies included in the OMXS 30 stock index, the full contract specifications, and the market holidays.
Bear Call Spread
Description of the basic options strategy known as a bear call spread, including instructions for making a bear call spread trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of bear call spreads.
Overcoming a Losing Streak
Discussion of day trading losing streaks, with examples of acceptable losing streaks for different types of trading system, and suggestions for overcoming a losing streak.
Averaging Down
Definition of averaging down, with reasons why a trader would average down a position, and an explanation of why averaging down will lose money over the long term.
Why Markets Fall Quickly
Discussion of why markets tend to fall quicker than they rise, with an explanation of how the emotions of fear and greed cause this to happen.
Overcoming Stubbornness
Discussion of why traders with stubborn personalities need to overcome their stubbornness in order to be profitable. Explains the reason why being stubborn is counter productive to successful day trading.
TickTrader
Introduction to the TickTrader trading software, with descriptions of TickTrader's main features, and examples of how TickTrader can be used for automated trading.
Ranging and Trending
Definition of the day trading terms ranging and trending, and descriptions of the types of market that they describe.
Margin Call
Definition of a margin call, and reasons why margin calls should be avoided.
Time and Sales or Tape
Definition of the time and sales (or tape), and descriptions of the information that is provided by the time and sales.
Margin
Definition of the day trading term margin, with an explanation of how margin applies to day trading, and why different markets have different margin requirements.
Trend Lines - Price Levels
Description and examples of trend lines showing support and resistance, and explanations of the information that they provide about the market's prices.
Day Trading - HowTos
An index of HowTos for the Day Trading guide site.
Long Put
Description of the basic options strategy known as a long put, including instructions for making a long put trade, and explanations of the risk and reward of long puts.
Stop or If Touched Orders
Explanation of the differences between stop orders and if touched orders, with examples of how using the wrong type of order can greatly affect your trading.
Single Stock Futures
Description of single stock futures, with an explanation of single stock futures contracts, and examples of single stock futures markets.
Order Execution
Definition of the day trading phrases related to orders being executed and orders being filled.
Points, Ticks, and Pips
Definition of the day trading terms points, ticks, and pips, with an explanation of which term is used for which markets, and examples of how they are used when talking about day trading.
Day Trading - QuickTips
An index of QuickTips for the Day Trading guide site.

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