The world of stock trading has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Trades that use to take more than a week to process now take only moments. While once you needed to have a stock broker to make a trade for you, now, from the comfort of your own computer, you can make as many trades as you like, and at a much lower commission than your grandfather would have paid to make the same trade 50 years earlier. The world of online trading can be very tempting to many. Investing is a lot like gambling, with possible huge profits and even bigger losses possible. But how do you know if online investing is for you?

The first question you need to answer is do you have money to burn? Of course, none of us want to toss our money down the drain, but you have to be prepared for the worst. Most online investors are armed with a copy of the New York Times, online subscriptions to several investment websites as well as strong word of mouth from family and friends, but even with all this information, some investments don’t go the way you want them to. Make sure you have room in your budget so that you can afford to lose some and still be secure. Online investing can be addictive, so you should know when to stop.

Be prepared to arm yourself with as much information as possible. While it’s true that even the most informed traders make mistakes, the more you know, the less likely this will happen. This means immersing yourself in reliable, timely and knowledgeable advice. If you’re not willing to take the time to properly educate yourself, you might want to leave investing to your broker.

A good investor has to learn to be patient. While it is tempting to take on the human herding instinct and put your money on the latest trend or the most fashionable stock, those investors that are confident and patient usually come out on top.

If you’re new, stick to blue chip stocks. There is a reason they are called blue chips, they have shown slow and steady growth over long periods of time. There is no such thing as a safe stock, but blue chips are the closest thing you’ll find. A good tip is to always leave a portion of your investments in blue chips, so if the rest of your investments go south, you’ll have something to fall back on.

Online investing can be exciting and fun, but it can also be terrifying for a newbie. Do the research, develop some patience and stick to familiar ground and online investing can be a great way to develop your portfolio without having to bow to mainstream brokers.

An Introduction to Stock Trading

More about Stocks Trading:

Forex Trading Versus Stock Trading

Only in recent years that forex trading is opened to retail traders. Comparatively stock trading has been around for much longer for retail investors.

Trading With Good Penny Stock Listing Options

Stock trading can be easy if you equip yourself with the right information. If you’re a beginner in stock trading investment, you can begin by investing your money in online stocks, start by trading in small investments and good penny [...]

Live Stock Day Trading Online Video

I have been day trading the stock market for many years now. Watch this video and learn from my real time trading strategies.

Online Stock Trading

If you are looking for some good profitable business, then Stock Trading is the best one to choose. Trading stocks is same like you invest your money on some other physical things like land, gold etc. 

Stock Profile and Stock Trading Newsletter

When you do not want to start a business of your own but have substantial amount of money to buy shares, you can choose for stock trade.

The mini-crash of 1997 is remembered better today for what didn’t happen than what did. For the first time in New York Stock Exchange history, trading was halted for the day for the first time ever due to losses in stock prices.

What made this event so controversial is that the “circuit-breaker” system that was used for the first time that day was run on the idea that once the market has lost a certain number of points, trading would be halted. This was seen to be short-sighted since the actual percentage of value lost when trading was halted was relatively minor compared to other market crashes and corrections in the past. The circuit breaker system has since been corrected to only stop once 10 percent, 20 percent and finally 30 percent of the market value has been lost.

As is always the case with trading on the American stock markets, the ripple effect that would turn into a tidal wave started with the Hong Kong market. The Hang Seng Index fell about six percent the night before, but many experts in the US didn’t bear it much mind since the Nikkei average lost only two percent that same day. As markets opened in Europe, they followed suit with their Asian counterparts, with the FTSE losing about 2 percent and the DAX exchange in Frankfurt falling, as well.

As markets opened in the United States, most predicted a bad day, but no one predicted what ended up happening. The NASDAQ, S&P and the Dow Jones all opened lower, and it was pretty much all down hill from there. Just after 2:30 in the afternoon, the Dow had dropped 350 points, causing the first level of the “circuit-breaker” to go off, halting trading. While a 350 point drop is significant, many did not feel a stoppage in trading was warranted at that time, since a drop of that size is relatively small, percentage-wise. Thirty minutes later, trading began again, only to see the 550 point window smashed around 3:30. This second circuit breaker level usually causes a one-hour break in trading, but since there was only 30 or so minutes left, trading for the day was ended.

This correction was seen as a slight bump in what was otherwise a good year for the Dow. The 550 point drop was just over a 7% loss for the day. It turned out to be the 12^th biggest percentage loss in a single day in Dow history and third biggest point loss.

More about Stock Market Trading:

Online Stock Market Trading – Stock Option Trading Basics

Trading in stock options is not recommended for novices to the stock market. Those uninitiated in the stock market will likely sustain losses. It is recommended that you educate yourself first and start out with the basics.

The Best Stock Market Trading Strategies

What are the best stock market trading strategies? Is the old fashioned ‘buy and hold’ strategy dead? The economy is failing, companies are collapsing and the increased volatility of the stock market seems to have made all of the best [...]

Stock Market Trading Tip

Are you looking for stock market trading tips?

How Does Stock Market Trading Work?

The stock market is the forum where publicly held company stock and related financial instruments are traded. Financial instruments may include stock index futures and stock options.