3 Ways to Improve Your Holiday Trading
Ahh, the holidays…..for me they evoke thoughts of family time, big meals, and lots of naps during football games on TV! The holidays mean different things to different people, but no matter which ones you celebrate, you’ll be wise to take into account the fact that holiday trading sessions may require some adjustments on your part if you want to pull some money out of the market.
(I’ll keep this short and sweet because you and I both probably have some in-laws waiting on us!)
Holiday markets can be strange. The volume is lighter and the moves are just different. There’s fewer participants (reflected by lighter volume), and that means the market will often move differently than usual.
Let’s look at 3 ways to quickly adjust your trading approach for success during the holidays:
1) Shorten your timeframes. Light-volume markets are prone to reversals, so don’t be afraid to take quick profits into an initial move……those profits might disappear before you know it!
2) Go where the action is. Lately it’s been China-related stocks. But whatever the theme du jour is, locate the high-volume movers which are showing a change of character. Momentum traders will flock to the handful of stocks which are moving well during range-bound markets, so your best bet is to find those stocks and focus on trading them.
3) Don’t trade at all! (We often forget that this is an option!) Take a break from the market and come back when everyone else does. Spend some time with family. Scratch some items off that to-do list (did someone say “rake leaves?”). Rest up and recharge so that when you do return, you’ve got a clear head. Getting away from the screens is never a bad idea, and the chances are that you’ll come back better than you were when you left.
Whatever changes you make during these times, I wish you the best! Happy holidays from TheStockBandit.com!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
www.TheStockBandit.com
Brett | Dec 1, 2006 | Reply
Jeff,
I am new to day trading and I have been doing allot of research on it. I also have been playing allot of games on virtualstockexchange.com. My average return is about 700% the only problem I have it what stocks to get into. I seem to be doing very well with stock with a price of .0001-.0004 they are very easy for me to manage. The issue I have run into these past weeks it that they arent really doing much of anything. JMCP for example has not moved for four days now. Normaly it will go from .0001-.0002 a few times a day. Is this a sign that it is done moving or is this due to the holiday season? Also, what is a good way for me to find a pick stocks like the ones I have mentioned above?
TheStockBandit | Dec 1, 2006 | Reply
Hey Brett,
Keep in mind that trading on a virtual exchange is quite a bit easier than trading actual dollars just because there’s far less fear involved when the risk of losing money or giving back profits is absent. The executions can also be different, which can skew results as well.
Having said that, I don’t trade penny stocks, let alone sub-penny stocks, and I’ve never seen JMCP. I use TeleChart by Worden (click banner in sidebar to check them out) to scan for stocks which meet my trading criteria, but only for stocks trading on Nasdaq, NYSE & AMEX. Pink-sheet stocks or bulletin board stocks are not included, which is fine by me because while they do have big potential, they can also lose their buzz in a heartbeat. As soon as these unknown stocks stop moving, they are left in the dust and quickly forgotten as traders move on to the next hot mover. So that’s another reason why I don’t trade them because you could easily get stuck in some little stock which (1) doesn’t move enough to let you out, or (2) doesn’t have ample liquidity (buyers + sellers = volume) to let you out.
My site at http://www.TheStockBandit.com provides picks for members who are seeking trading ideas, and you’ll rarely see a stock under $10 in price or 200k daily avg. volume.
Let me know if I can help out further & good luck!
Jeff