Stock Market

[IGoddessI]

Wish I could help you but honestly I got free shares in Woolworths somewhere from about 5 years ago and have no [bleep]ing clue where they've gone or how to claim them.... ItÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s probably hanging out with my unclaimed superannuation funds all around Australia that I really should also claim and put under the same bloody company, before that compound interest digs in to my pockets instead :uhh:

[Captainkidd]

It would be very hard for you to keep track of your broker, 100 euros...They have way bigger fish to fry then you, I was looking into this company, it was, I belive the only US car radio stock, it was dirt cheap when I looked it up, and since theres no other companys (big ones) they would have to make money.

 

 

 

I havn't looked at the stock in the past few months so I really don't know.

 

 

 

Try looking into that. :)

[Nuclear_man2]

hmmm well you should do what i did with making some profit on GE... find something that is going up in value for at least 3 days... buy some of it... wait a day then sell it for more... 3 isnt really technically a statstic but it tracks it for a long time so look back and see if its been mostly going up in value in the last month and preferibly gone up by at least 5% in um 7 days. Id say thats probably worth your time.

 

 

 

 

 

Its not as simple as buying cheap selling high... as with the stock market prices can fluxuate a bit. So gotta make sure that it goes up in price... and i recomend keeping track of at least 10 things that you could afford to invest in.

 

 

 

Its probably better to make a 1% sure profit then 10% maybe profit.

[BlueLancer]

I thought you had to have a stockbroker licence to trade at the stock market :-s

 

 

 

No, you don't. :lol: Don't worry, even "normal" people can own, trade & sell stocks, recieve dividends...

 

 

 

I know plenty of this subject since I basically did stock trading/short selling etc. as a living for years.

 

 

 

Then it occured to me. Hey i don't know WHERE and HOW to buy stocks. I don't know where to sell them, where the most reliable information and how much their worth is. Or any of those things. I don't know whether to identify if a company is gonna keep rising or gonna drop soon.

 

 

 

So if anyone has any advice or steps i could take to just familiarise myself with this then it would be much appreciated. And most importantly WHERE AND HOW to BUY/SELL stocks.

 

 

 

Also im 14 years old and live in England, if that helps.

 

 

 

It largely depends on which stocks you want to buy, what level of risk you're willing to accept, etc...

 

 

 

It's safe to say NASDAQ/Topix, which lists technology companies (the other being Japanese though), still provides the highest profits (but also has a higher risk rate than S&P 500).

 

 

 

Where, and how to buy/sell stocks is the least of your worries. Brokers are fighting a bloody battle amongst each other to get customers nowadays, commissions get lower all the time...

 

 

 

Saxobank.com

 

Tradewallstreet.com

 

Sharebuilder.com

 

 

 

And of course... Your local bank will most likely offer stocks for sale.

 

 

 

Your age is a problem though; You wont be able to actively trade and sell stocks until you are 18 years old.

 

 

 

where the most reliable information and how much their worth is. Or any of those things. I don't know whether to identify if a company is gonna keep rising or gonna drop soon.

 

 

 

It's simpler than elementary mathematics... You act before the market reacts. You must have the skill to identify which news, annual reports, etc. will rise a stock's price, which will make it go sky high briefly, which will make it drop or plummet, etc...

 

 

 

Quarterly interim reports, press releases etc. of companies are one thing to wait for while holding the 'buy' button ready figuratively speaking. If sales have been good for a company, let's say Microsoft in the NASDAQ or Toyota/Nintendo in the Topix, a 10% increase in sales volume will nearly always mean the share goes up by about 2% or more (though not always, there are exceptions which I can explain to you in detail in PM)

 

 

 

The thing is, you will want to get rid of those stocks once they reach your estimated price roof, about 5% max since the hype brings up the stock after an interim report etc., because the stock will stabilize a few days, or a week after the hype dies down. Then you repeat it after the next interim report/news that affects the share positively, ad infinitum...

 

 

 

I quit doing it though, I'm no longer attracted by the aspect of purely playing a market to gain profits, I now find it extremely vain, boring and meaningless. I can PM you if you want to know more about this subject though. :)

 

 

 

Oh, and if you really want to trade in stocks full-time... You'll need constant internet access and plenty of reliable business websites open during the times when the markets are open. Forget about newspapers, websites update every 1 minute these days and you can be way ahead of investors that react slowly (the very people that eventually bring up the stock price by creating hyped demand for it)

[Nuclear_man2]

the guy above me has a good point its a bit more complicated then what i siad above... but statistically my method will work but it may not make you the kind of money your going after (its less risky as something drastic would have to happen for you to lose money) after all something has to change quite a bit to break a month long increaseing statistic.

[assassin_696]

Buy low sell high...

 

 

 

When I was a big younger I picked about 10 shares from the share listings in the paper and tracked them over the course of a few months everyday (manually mind you, these were the days before I was internet savvy). It was quite interesting really, I picked a few big ones, a few smaller ones and a few random ones, and watched how they changed and tried to see if I could find a reason why they behaved like they did.

 

 

 

But as for proper advice, I can't really add anything to what BlueLancer has already said, and Ambassadar seems to have recommended some good books. You might not really be that serious, but it's something you'll probably want to try and get a feel for by reading and watching and experimenting.

[frogmann2]

My dad did that to me too. He gave me $100 and so far I've made $5,000 with a lot more in potential stocks. But it was in the U.S. stock market, so there's a tad bit of a difference there. Right now technology is high in the U.S. Market. Also, watch fashions. I bought into crocks for $50 and made about $500 off that. Remember, don't stay in something too long hoping it will go higher, sell high, but don't go higher than you need to. Look up Jim Cramer on the internet, he has some good tips on playing the stock market.

[BlueLancer]

I bought into crocks for $50 and made about $500 off that. Remember, don't stay in something too long hoping it will go higher, sell high, but don't go higher than you need to. Look up Jim Cramer on the internet, he has some good tips on playing the stock market.

 

 

 

I wont even comment on the $100->$5000... But how on Earth could you buy $50 worth of Croc stock on NASDAQ and make $500 dollars by 'playing' it? :-k

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the stock's history, it has fluctuated within $5-$50 of that price range. 50 bucks could buy you a max of 2 stocks months ago... 1 or 2 stocks can't make $500 of profit no matter what you did..

 

 

 

A skilled investor could've probably made $50 into about $60-$80 (minus broker commissions) with crocs by selling short while the stock had periodical highs, now the share is doing very bad (since it's patents are being rejected by the EU and the company has other problems) and the stock is hitting a low price, and may sink even lower.

 

 

 

Please, don't lie with the intent to show you made absurd profits which are not humanly (nor even mathematically) possible.

[Flame_guy3]

Thanks again everyone... ill wait for my dad to open up a stock market account and see where it goes any other comments are welcomed and all the advice given is appreciated thanks again and just wondering Blue did you get my pm?

[Scars]

Is your dad an active trader?

 

 

 

It's kind of a weird challenge, would've been better if he's an active trader to involve you into market & then challenge you after you've learned something & see how you're coming along. :P

[____]

[hide]

I bought into crocks for $50 and made about $500 off that. Remember, don't stay in something too long hoping it will go higher, sell high, but don't go higher than you need to. Look up Jim Cramer on the internet, he has some good tips on playing the stock market.

 

 

 

I wont even comment on the $100->$5000... But how on Earth could you buy $50 worth of Croc stock on NASDAQ and make $500 dollars by 'playing' it? :-k

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the stock's history, it has fluctuated within $5-$50 of that price range. 50 bucks could buy you a max of 2 stocks months ago... 1 or 2 stocks can't make $500 of profit no matter what you did..

 

 

 

A skilled investor could've probably made $50 into about $60-$80 (minus broker commissions) with crocs by selling short while the stock had periodical highs, now the share is doing very bad (since it's patents are being rejected by the EU and the company has other problems) and the stock is hitting a low price, and may sink even lower.[/hide]

 

 

 

Please, don't lie with the intent to show you made absurd profits which are not humanly (nor even mathematically) possible.

To be honest, I opened this topic for two reasons:

 

 

 

1. To see you post awesome advice on the stock market :P

 

2. To see you out some nub who made an outrageous claim (like that nub years ago about making similar % profits in under a year :uhh:)

[Mechwariorx]

My dad has been day trading for about four years, two of them as his main source of income. He always suggested that I "paper trade" to see what works. Paper trades are just writing down what you would buy and sell on paper as it is happening. I paper traded for about a week, giving myself a few thousand dollars, and I didn't do well. :P

 

 

 

I believe you need $25,000 to open a brokerage account for day trading in the US. I assume there is some minimum fee where you are from too.

 

 

 

Making money in the stock market in just one day is very hard. My dad has set a goal to make 5% profit everyday, which most of the time he doesn't reach. If you are paying 5%-10% in fees, don't expect to make much, if any, profit on a daily basis.

 

 

 

On a closing note, I will add that my dad has made 10-15% on an amount he was investing in one day, but other days he has lost 10-15%. Set an amount of money you want to make, make it, and get out even if the stock is still going up. Peaks are followed by crashed.

 

 

 

Hope I have helped!

 

 

 

-Mech

[Phantom]

A economics teacher would be the best way to get advice with stocks.

 

 

 

Also I agree that Jim Cramer is a good source for advice on good/bad stocks :)

[Mechwariorx]

Also I agree that Jim Cramer is a good source for advice on good/bad stocks :)

 

 

 

BOOYA! :lol:

 

 

 

I heard his books are pretty good also.

[Ambassadar]

I believe you need $25,000 to open a brokerage account for day trading in the US. I assume there is some minimum fee where you are from too.

 

 

 

Most brokerages require about $500-$5000 to start an account.

 

 

 

The $25,000 is only required to day trade. Otherwise if you sell a stock you can buy it again but you can't sell it until the money from the initial sell has settled which is 3 business days. Options settle in 1 business day. If you sell again before the initial sale has settled then I know my brokerage(Scottrade) will put a freeze on your account the second time you do it after they give you a warning the first time you do it.

[BlueLancer]

I believe you need $25,000 to open a brokerage account for day trading in the US. I assume there is some minimum fee where you are from too.

 

 

 

Most brokerages require about $500-$5000 to start an account.

 

 

 

The $25,000 is only required to day trade. Otherwise if you sell a stock you can buy it again but you can't sell it until the money from the initial sell has settled which is 3 business days. Options settle in 1 business day. If you sell again before the initial sale has settled then I know my brokerage(Scottrade) will put a freeze on your account the second time you do it after they give you a warning the first time you do it.

 

 

 

It can be lower than that in many banks, but generally speaking, yes you'll need significant capital to day trade stocks (make instant sell and buy requests), most of the time normal investors can't sell & buy the same stock multiple times within a 2-3 days period without making the bank/broker angry or them just auto-banning you from buying/selling the same stocks so much.

 

 

 

If you're investing only about $500 to $5,000, you can make a profit knowing what you're doing, but you wont be able to make a living from that level of gains (unless you live in a country where a few hundred bucks a month goes far for living, I suppose if you lived in China, a $200-$300 monthly profit could enable you to live as that equals some 1500+yuans)

 

 

 

P.S: With the large initial deposit required for day trading, you do get many benefits as well, such as software that will automatically track stock prices every time prices go up & down, make instant sell requests if the price sinks too fast, etc... Which are usually not available for normal investors.

[Mechwariorx]

I believe you need $25,000 to open a brokerage account for day trading in the US. I assume there is some minimum fee where you are from too.

 

 

 

Most brokerages require about $500-$5000 to start an account.

 

 

 

The $25,000 is only required to day trade.

 

 

 

I didn't mention you can open a brokerage account with much less if you didn't want to day trade, and I should have. Thanks for bringing it up. :)

 

 

 

I STRONGLY suggest that you don't start out trading options. Even though they clear in one business day they are constantly depreciating in value, since they are only good for so long.

[Ambassadar]

It can be lower than that in many banks, but generally speaking, yes you'll need significant capital to day trade stocks...

 

 

 

Really? I was under the impression that it had been passed into law a couple of years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't mention you can open a brokerage account with much less if you didn't want to day trade, and I should have. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

:D No problem.

 

 

 

I STRONGLY suggest that you don't start out trading options. Even though they clear in one business day they are constantly depreciating in value, since they are only good for so long.

 

Quoted for truth. Stay the heck away from options until you have at least several years of investing experience under your belt. Actually... selling covered calls is pretty conservative so that is the only thing I would remotely suggest a newer investor to do concerning options.