Originally Posted by
Hozer11
It is a lot hard harder to day trade stocks now than it was even as recently as 2007 really since the lending crisis. One problem is the that liquidity is way down, the volumes are just not what they used to be. Another problem is the high frequency trading using computer algorithms to step in front of humans trading.
In 2005, I personally knew about 20 guys who made their living day trading. I think I know 1 or 2 who day trade the "opening" or OPG trade for profit and that type of trading is only available to pros or prop firms, not to just regular dudes with an Etrade account.
I still dabble in stock trading but I almost never make a day trade. My time frame is weeks or months and I try to make 4 or 5 dollar moves rather than the 7 or 8 cents I used to go for. I would guess 80% of my trades are fully hedged or "paired". The other 20% are purely speculative and mostly long positions on stocks in the 10 to 20 bucks per share range. Those trades are swing trades and are fully automated by an excel sheet linked to a Redi trading platform. I pay this other trader $40 a month for his automated program ( I dont know squat about programming or coding).
There may be +EV opportunities to day trade options or futures or currency ( I don't know those markets well), but I would recommend avoiding trying to day trade stocks for profit in the current environment. The few remaining prop firms are fighting against these high frequency traders and have had multiple meetings with the SEC, but I have not heard any talk of it going away. Obviously google High Frequency Trading for more info.
Peace,
Hozer11