Newbie/Oldie

[Kael]

Hello all.

Well, ive been semi trading for a few years now and have only recently (since christmas), begun to trade more regularly. However i have been using a T-3 account. Since uping the ante if you like, i have recorded some nice profits and still (hopefully) have a bit more to come. However, now i would like to move into day trading, preferably UK stocks and indices, and maybe the US indices too. As i have Zero experience in day trading I have been scouring this Beautiful site for info and have come to realise there are many many differences with day trading, although, not too dissimilar to the trading i have done for the past 8 months. It mainly( by it i mean day trading profitably) seems to involve short term, knee jerk reactions (psychologicaly orientated) to price events and the like (news events), but of course with an underlying trend. I also realise that having up to the minute news info and price info is essential.

Basically what i really want to know is...firstly which news source/price info is best value (personal experience is needed here, also remember value is important for me). Which broker would be best to go with? Atm im tinkering with the trial that D4F has bundled with its software (10K funny money), although i am not overly keen on the setup that it has. But for funny money purposes it seems to do the job. I have sent for a finspreads brochure and was prolly gonna choose that one, just because its client software seems more user friendly. But of course i would enjoy some people response on the matter. I'm sure i could get used to D4F if it was a better option. And um well thats about it, lovely site, nice forums and as of yet...have found no ramping (v.v. good sign). Keep up the good work, and sorry if my post isnt the Queens English (bit drunk).

 

[darrenf]

I'm not a day trader myself so I can't comment from personal experience on the best resources for news etc.

However, I can say that having taken part in many a discussion about spreadbetting v futures, for day trading, the concensus would seem to be that futures for index trading and direct access trading for (US) stocks are the way to go.

Basically the reasons for this are:-

Index trading: Spreadbets have wider spreads than futures and therefore if you are trading intraday for a few points at a time, futures should be more profitable. (There is also the infamous spreadbet bias to contend with, the effect of which can vary dratically depending on who you talk to!)

Stocks: It is generally accepted that US stocks have lower spreads than UK and no stamp duty. This makes it much more feasible to day trade US stocks than UK. There is also direct access available for nasdaq stocks. Take a look at the thread entitled "A typical day trading the US" for some excellent commentary/ example trades from experienced US traders.

I would also add that IB (Interactive Brokers) seems a very popular choice for both futures and US stocks among the day trading fraternity.

Finally, I would say I have nothing against D4F. I use them myself for longer term positions which usually last 2 to 5 days or so.

Hope this helps

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Kael

Welcome to T2W

I have to agree with DarrenF. D4F are good but IB is a better option if you have a good trading capital.

For a good US newsflow try www.briefing.com and I like www.advfn.com as a UK feed.

May I ask what sort of level your thinking about trading with, as it will influence your choice greatly.

 

[Kael]

Hello again

Thank you for your replys. As for what level im trading with, I assume you mean what level of trade information?? I have decided not to subscribe to any news soure/ lev 2 info source as of yet i have been having small time success. I have substantial trading capital but not overly substantal if you get my drift! Im using D4F atm so i guess i would be recieving min by min prices. Currently i have been trading with nominee account(monthly trades), but i am looking to up the ante and move into day-weekly trading. I am interested by the idea of spread-betting and have read posts either for or against it... Futures i think are a bit too much for me and require more experience and mainly more cash! but i would use SB as a launch pad if you like. I would be aiming to make 25-50 daily (although the market may decide otherwise! ) as that is approximatly the sucess i have had with the nominee i have. But that of course invloves long positions which can take a while to bring into fruition. Ideally i would trade both the US and UK markets using both indices and stock. I have no experience of trading the US Markets but do follow them.

I guess my average day would be trading FTSE and DOW mainly to make the small gains with small bets and then moving into Stocks inbetween. But this is only thoughts jumbling round! I will need about a week or two to free up the capital and then open an account in the decided place, so i have a bit of time yet!

Of course my ideal situation would be to make enough to live comfortably, although from other threads i've read some do it and some don't! Also has anyone had *reasonable* success with SB? With the funny money i was playing with earlier (ahem...I mean investing ) I had reasonable success, and the spreads I found weren't too bad, didnt really eat into profits too much, but hey I'm new to day trading and SB so i stand to be corrected I'm sure

 

[options]

Hi Kael

Listen to Darren F, he has it about right.

You can day trade with the sb's and make a profit, but they are suited to the longer time frame as it negates the spread somewhat.
Look at it this way. You will lose more and win less with sb's.

If you have the dosh behind you, (bloody hell; I haven't used the word dosh for about 20 years.) (sorry) Then either futures or usa stocks (Nasdaq) are the way to go. Forget anything else.

There are people on here who have traded both and say that nasdaq stocks are the better choice. I must say that I am begining to change my views to theirs as well.

But whatever you choose, give it 120%

 

[Kael]

Hey all again,

Thank you for all your help, I think its IB for me and day trading... Reading up on lev 2 and various mm's and their preferred tactics, I feel I'm up to an improved level of trading...although very different from what I'm used to...its almost real. lol. Anyway thank you for all your advice again. Will keep you posted and will keep posting