Stock Market Online Trading

Stock Market Online Trading - By: Noel Swanson, 2007-12-31

Trading stocks online can be very stimulating. It is both, either a great hobby or a full time job. In both cases you can earn much money. The stock market has made millionaires since the very beginnings of share trading. In the past you could trade stocks only for long term profits, today you can make profits within minutes.

Today you can buy and sell stocks around the clock in almost every stock market in the world. The US stock market is still very popular but why not investing in some of the great companies overseas? It has become so easy today to buy shares online that everybody with a PC and access to the Internet can do it.

What makes stock trading so fascinating? It is probably the possibility to get instant access to the markets. All the information you need is delivered in real time today at low costs. Stock quotes, fundamental data, news, charts. You can be your own investment adviser and make your own decisions.

Today there is almost no difference between a trader behind a trading desk at the bank and a private investor sitting behind his home computer. Both have cheap access to real time data of all the stocks they like to follow. The only difference might be the money an institutional investor has compared to a private trader.

There is a variety of online stock brokers today, more than we can count. How to find the right one? First you need to make the decision to trade either alone or together with the help of an experienced trader. There is nothing against doing everything yourself, with a discount broker you safe much fees and you are able to execute your trades yourself without human interaction. A full service broker gives you advice where you need it and does everything for you.

If you are more a speculator than an investor, you usually go with a discount stock broker because the commissions per trade are much cheaper. And since you are trading more often than an investor this can quickly add up. The average commissions for buying stocks is about $5 to $10 per order. The execution time of your order shouldn't be longer than 1 minute.

The trading platforms you get from your broker vary in performance, reliability and costs. If you are just starting with online stock trading then choose a known broker like Schwab for example. They have simple and easy to use trading platforms. Once you get more experienced and an active trader you might consider getting one of these direct access trading platforms. They cost something but offer a lot. Daytraders are using them to get filled in a split second.

The stock market gives you hundreds of opportunities every day. Thousands of stocks are listed on the various US stock exchanges and every stock is different. For more than 6 hours a day the regular market is open for taking your orders plus hours of special pre- and post market trading. You can spend your whole life analyzing and trading stocks back and forth.

Get all information about online stock trading in order to be successful. Understanding the stock market is the foundation of your trading success.