Trading Simplified

Short-term trading can be very lucrative, but it can also be risky. A short-term trade can last for as little as a few minutes to as long as several days. To succeed at this strategy as a trader, you must understand the risks and rewards of each trade. You must not only know how to spot good short-term opportunities but also how to protect yourself. In this article, we'll examine the basics of spotting good short-term trades and how to profit from them. Recognizing the "right" trade will mean that you know the difference between a good potential situation and ones to avoid. Too often, investors get caught up in the moment and believe that, if they watch the evening news and read the financial pages, they will be on top of what's happening in the markets. The truth is, by the time we hear about it, the markets are already reacting. So, some basic steps must be followed to find the right trades at the right times . A moving average is the average price of a stock over a specific period of time. The most common time frames are 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 200 days. The overall idea is to show whether a stock is trending upward or downward. Generally, a good candidate will have a moving average that is sloping upward. If you are looking for a good stock to short , you generally want to find one with a moving average that is flattening out or declining.