T2W Bot
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SHORT ANSWER
One man’s meat . . .
Each market has its own characteristics. Which one is best for you is down to personal choice. What one trader perceives as a feature or benefit of trading their chosen market, another trader will perceive as being a reason for avoiding it like the plague. For example, U.S equities traders will argue that they can trade any one of thousands of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq. One of the benefits of this is that on flat choppy days, when the markets as a whole are bobbing about in a tight range, there will always be some stocks that are trending strongly, both up and down. As a rule of thumb, most traders prefer to trade trending ‘instruments’ (explained in the Long Answer), rather than flat, directionless ones.
. . . is another man’s poison
On the other side of the coin are futures traders, who tend to view all the above as a huge headache! For them, looking for stocks that are trending can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. They maintain that trading one or two equity index futures is much simpler. (Not easier necessarily, just simpler!) They can really get in tune with their instrument(s) of choice and don’t have to spend hours each day just hunting for possible candidates to trade. Even with a shortlist of twenty or so stocks from the thousands available, tracking them all in real time can be problematic.
Focus on one – two at most
It’s all too common for new traders to start trading one market because that’s what their mate trades or because of some misguided belief that it’s easier to trade one market than it is another. There is a view that really good traders can make consistent profits trading any market. This may or may not be true. What is certain is that the majority of successful traders focus on one or two markets at most and, very often, just trade a handful of instruments within those markets. Follow their lead – at least in the early days while you’re finding your feet. Sifting through the available options to decide which market has your name on it will take time, but it will be well worth your while.
One man’s meat . . .
Each market has its own characteristics. Which one is best for you is down to personal choice. What one trader perceives as a feature or benefit of trading their chosen market, another trader will perceive as being a reason for avoiding it like the plague. For example, U.S equities traders will argue that they can trade any one of thousands of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq. One of the benefits of this is that on flat choppy days, when the markets as a whole are bobbing about in a tight range, there will always be some stocks that are trending strongly, both up and down. As a rule of thumb, most traders prefer to trade trending ‘instruments’ (explained in the Long Answer), rather than flat, directionless ones.
. . . is another man’s poison
On the other side of the coin are futures traders, who tend to view all the above as a huge headache! For them, looking for stocks that are trending can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. They maintain that trading one or two equity index futures is much simpler. (Not easier necessarily, just simpler!) They can really get in tune with their instrument(s) of choice and don’t have to spend hours each day just hunting for possible candidates to trade. Even with a shortlist of twenty or so stocks from the thousands available, tracking them all in real time can be problematic.
Focus on one – two at most
It’s all too common for new traders to start trading one market because that’s what their mate trades or because of some misguided belief that it’s easier to trade one market than it is another. There is a view that really good traders can make consistent profits trading any market. This may or may not be true. What is certain is that the majority of successful traders focus on one or two markets at most and, very often, just trade a handful of instruments within those markets. Follow their lead – at least in the early days while you’re finding your feet. Sifting through the available options to decide which market has your name on it will take time, but it will be well worth your while.
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