Trading for beginners: a guide (2024)

When you trade, you’ll use a platform like ours to access these markets and take a position on whether you think a market’s price will rise or fall. If your prediction is correct, you’ll make a profit. If incorrect, you’ll incur a loss.

The financial instruments you’ll use to trade on an asset’s price movements are known as ‘derivatives’. This simply means that the instrument’s price is ‘derived’ from the price of the underlying, like a company share or an ounce of gold. As the price of the underlying asset changes, so does the value of the derivative.

To understand this, let’s look at an example of speculating on shares. If the price of a share goes up from $100 to $105, the value of the derivative will increase by the same amount. If you bought the derivative at $100, you could now sell it at $105. Although you never own the share itself, your profit or loss will mirror its price movements.

So, why use a derivative?

With derivatives trading, you can go long or short – meaning you can make a profit if that market’s price rises or falls, as long as you predict it correctly. Contrarily, if the market moved against your speculation, you’d incur a loss. This is because trading isn’t owning the actual financial asset. With owning something outright, such as gold for example, you’ll only make a profit if the gold price climbs.

Leverage can be another reason to trade with derivatives.

Trading with leverage means that, instead of paying the total value of your trade upfront, you’ll put down a fraction of its value as a deposit. This is called ‘margin’. This means leverage can stretch your capital much further as you can open large positions for a smaller initial amount.

With leverage, your total profits or losses are calculated based on the full position’s value, not how much you paid to open that position. You can make far more than the initial margin amount you paid to trade – and you can also lose far more. This means leverage has built-in risk.

Interested? Practise trading with a free demo account

All of this new terminology can be a lot to digest. So, we’ve created a table below with five key trading terms every beginner should know.

Trading for beginners: a guide (2024)

FAQs

What should a beginner start trading with? ›

You'll want a reputable broker that caters to day traders and has low transaction fees, quick order execution, and a reliable trading platform. Once you're ready, fund your account. It's advisable to begin with a relatively small amount in your trading account and only put in money you can afford to lose.

How much money do I need to make $1000 a day trading? ›

In order to make $1,000 in a day on a stock that increases 10% in a day, you would have to invest $10,000 in that stock. If you wanted to trade on margin, you could invest a little more than $5,000 and still make $1,000 on that trade.

Is $500 enough to start trading? ›

Can you start day trading in the US with $500? Yes, there are many trading platforms that allow customers to begin trading with low sums. For example, brokers like eToro and Robinhood allow customers to initiate trades from as low as $10.

Can I start trading with $100? ›

Yes, you can technically start trading with $100 but it depends on what you are trying to trade and the strategy you are employing. Depending on that, brokerages may ask for a minimum deposit in your account that could be higher than $100. But for all intents and purposes, yes, you can start trading with $100.

Is $10 enough to start trading? ›

It is possible to begin Forex trading with as little as $10 and, in certain cases, even less. Brokers require $1,000 minimum account balance requirements. Some are available for as little as $5. Unfortunately, if your starting amount is $10, this may prevent you from getting the higher quality, regulated brokers.

What is the 10am rule in stock trading? ›

Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour. For example, if a stock closed at $40 the previous day, opened at $42 the next, and reached $43 by 10 a.m., this would indicate that the stock is likely to remain above $42 by market close.

Can I live off day trading? ›

Some professional traders make a living from day trading. If you enjoy this strategy enough and make it work for you, it could become your primary profession.

Can you make $200 a day day trading? ›

A common approach for new day traders is to start with a goal of $200 per day and work up to $800-$1000 over time. Small winners are better than home runs because it forces you to stay on your plan and use discipline. Sure, you'll hit a big winner every now and then, but consistency is the real key to day trading.

How many hours do day traders work? ›

Most independent day traders have short days, working two to five hours per day. Often they will practice making simulated trades for several months before beginning to make live trades.

Which type of trading is most profitable for beginners? ›

The defining feature of day trading is that traders do not hold positions overnight; instead, they seek to profit from short-term price movements occurring during the trading session.It can be considered one of the most profitable trading methods available to investors.

What is the cheapest way to start trading? ›

The cheapest way to invest in stocks is through a website, often called a platform. You can buy shares or funds from different providers, but for the cheapest offers you'll want to do it through a website, often called a platform. It's actually a two-stage process.

How much do you need to make $100 a day trading? ›

You're really probably going to need closer to 4,000 or $5,000 in order to make that $100 a day consistently. And ultimately it's going to be a couple of trades a week where you total $500 a week, so it's going to take a little bit more work.

Is trading classed as gambling? ›

Gambling vs. Day Trading. The main difference between day trading and gambling is that gamblers play available odds while traders strategize based on market trends, price movements, and past performances.

Can you realistically make money trading? ›

It is possible to earn money with day trading and make a living from it and generate high income - but the chances are extremely low. A maximum of three percent of all traders achieve long-term profits; the vast majority lose large sums of money.

How much money do I need to invest to make $3,000 a month? ›

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

Which trade is best for beginners? ›

Overview: Swing trading is an excellent starting point for beginners. It strikes a balance between the fast-paced day trading and long-term investing.

What is the best stock to trade for beginners? ›

Compare the best stocks for beginners
Company (Ticker)SectorMarket Cap
Broadcom (AVGO)Technology$627.94B
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)Financials$579.56B
UnitedHealth (UNH)Health care$457.84B
Comcast (CMCSA)Communication services$155.30B
2 more rows

Can I start trading with no experience? ›

Part-time traders with little or no experience are advised to start trading small amounts of currency. By opening a mini forex account, which requires a smaller-than-standard cash deposit, traders can control 10,000 currency units (the standard currency lot controls 100,000 units of currency).

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