Home › Market News › Doing The Homework For Day Trading
At the end of the day, the only person accountable for your bottom line is YOU. In that regard, it makes sense to do your research so you are confident that you’re making a well-informed decision when you open a position. This week, the Topstep coaches are discussing doing their homework to prepare for the trading day and sharing some of their favorite resources for compiling news and data.
This week’s funded trader shoutout goes out to a Mr. Craig Z., who took advantage of the recent uptick in volatility to post a $1,200 trading day in the E-Mini S&P 500 futures.
As the equity markets continue to grind to the upside and hover around new all-time highs, when the pullbacks do happen, they happen fast. However, if you are prepared to trade high volatility swings, they can be great opportunities, not just to catch a quick move to the downside but also to reposition yourself to the long side.
There’s a lot of market information available to traders out there. So, how do you sift through all the noise to get to the good stuff? An easy way to start is by first getting as much information as you can. Find other traders to follow on social media, look for banks and other financial institutions and subscribe to their newsletters (they’re usually free). The more, the better. Then, set a schedule to spend time reviewing these resources. After a while, you’ll start to get a feel for who is giving you honest insight and reliable information. Then, you can start trimming the fat and getting rid of the not-so-reliable sources.
Remember, no one else is responsible for your trading decisions, so make sure you have a good reason to put on a trade. Try not to blindly follow “gurus” who charge small fortunes and promise massive profits. And take the time to adequately vet chat room owners and moderators to ensure they have solid reputations. Most of this work can be done through simple web searches, but it’s definitely a good thing to do before getting started.
Trade Well!
