UK Day trading info

[monarch]

There seems to be lots of books on how to day trade in the US using their systems but I have not found a good book on Day trading in the UK using the systems, brokers sites etc that are available in the UK.
Can any one help?
Thank you

 

[ChartMan]

I think you would be hard pushed to find something UK specific.. You could do a lot worse than coming into the daily chat room and get top class first hand experience from any of the friendly traders. There are enough different traders there, you are bound to find someone that has a similar style to you, whatever that may be.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Hi Monarch, and welcome to trade2win.

I agree with what ChartMan says, but perhaps you can elaborate a little on your trading aspirations. Such as, are you currently short-term trading and looking to day trade, or are you virtually starting from scratch?

There are, basically, three ways of day trading - using spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs), and money (with or without margin). They all have their benefits, and their risks - and some have much larger risks to your wealth than others.

Do you have, or are you going to be getting, some real-time software? In the chat room most people seem to use AIQ real time, as this can be used for both UK and US exchanges, but all other real-time programs have their followers, and some use more than one program.

There are a whole gang of us in the chat room (20-30 people) during the day, so please feel free to pop in and experience day trading at first hand.

All the day trading books I have are US ones, which I just adapt for the UK (which is a much much slower market anyway). Net-Trading, by Alpesh B Patel, is probably the nearest I know of which covers UK day trading, as well as US stuff.

Hope this helps.

 

[monarch]

Thank you to Chartman & Skimbleshanks for your prompt replies. It is nice to find a BB which has people who seem to want to help.
In answer to your question Skimbleshanks: I invest in shares currently but I am interested in becoming a Day trader. I had considered using spreads but wanted to know if it was viable due to the sometimes large spreads. (Your thoughts please)
I am also looking for live feeds so would be interested in how I can see the AIQ system you suggested.
I would like to join in in your chat room perhaps you could direct me to where to find you.
Once again thank you for your help.

 

[ChartMan]

Yes, spreads are viable, as are CFD's, as there are ( usually) no brokers fees.Also there is no stamp duty and Spread Betting profit is free from ANY tax at all.
You wont be able to see the AIQ system, but you can get a 1 month free demo from Bob Debnam on 0208 367 8808 ( after 10am).
You can get into the chat room simply,by going to our home page- the entry portal is right there "CHAT".
For regular users, we recommend entering via the MIRC setup, which takes a while, but is vastly superior and instant once setup.
Others in the chat room will be able to offer further advice/suggestions on live feeds, as I only know about AIQ.
See you there.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Glad to see the possibility of another day trader being recruited - BUT and this is a very big BUT, you must do lots and lots of training and paper trading before you part with a single penny of your hard-earned dosh.

This is very important - you need to devise a strategy based on technical analysis (virtually all day traders use TA in their trading). This is where the skill is, and is not something that you can learn overnight. You have to decide what suits you best, and everyone I know uses slightly different indicators and settings. And a lot of gut feel!

As to spreads, the best stocks to trade are the ones with a small spread - these are usually the FTSE100 stocks in the UK. In the US the spreads can be as low as I cent on a $20 stock, with huge intraday volume. To day trade with the best chance of winning you need a) low spread and b) high volume.

So most day traders have their favourite 5 or 10 stocks which they know inside out and the other way around, they then trade this stock by going long if it's going up and shorting it if it's going down. To short a stock you need CFDs or spread betting, or a margin account.

Hope this helps.

 

[monarch]

Thank you for your advice.
I agreed that I need to paper trade first. And have been doing so for a while.
Could you suggest any good software that will let you paper trade or do you just follow the prices as per spread site?
Do you use UK spread betting for US stocks or do you use an American broker?
Any suggestions for level 11 broker in UK?

Thank you

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Whatever you do is going to start costing you ...

For example, if you don't have any RT (real-time) software (AIQ costs around $70 per month I believe), you can quite easily follow price movements on the Interent. There are some free ones, but most make a small monthly charge. Free sites need you to refresh the screen, whereas RT software is streaming so you don't need to bother with this.

I use ADVFN (www.advfn.co.uk) which costs £35 per month. This gives you Level 2 price and trades information, and the site also has intraday charting with indicators, monitor screens (so you can keep track of, say, 10 stocks on one page), portfolio, and a whole lot more.

I don't trade using CFDs or spread betting, but I understand that a company called CMC (deal4free) does UK stocks, US indices, and US stocks. But I may be wrong, so check out their website.

If you pop into the chat room, some of the boys there will be able to point you in the direction of intraday charting on the Internet. Unless anyone else here knows ...