8 thoughts on “how can I get into online stock trading?”

1. Take a year before you open a trading account. The most important thing you can do is learn. Start with easy books like "Investing For Dummies". Then add additional books to increase your understanding.

   You’ll save tons of money because;
   You won’t buy penny stocks for years.
   You’ll never take stock investing tips.
   You’ll always have an exit plan before you buy a stock.
   You’ll know that stock investing/trading is not about hitting "home runs".

   Good luck!

2. Go sign up on a site, first one i can think of is etrade but check them all out and see which one you like best.

3. TD Ameritrade and eTrade are good sites. You sign up, transfer money into them from your bank account, and buy stocks directly. As far as knowledge, it’s been proven that pigeons crapping randomly on the Wall Street Journal can pick stocks just as well as any broker. Just use common sense, if you want to stay on the safe side, go with big companies that you know aren’t going anywhere, like Apple or GE.

4. I got into online trading just a little under a year ago and have been very successful with it (i’ve made several thousand since I started).

   What I did was monitor several stocks I was interested in (i use the stock gadget available on the Google Deskbar) and see if I had a good eye for picking investments. After I felt comfortable with playing around, I looked at several of the better known online trading sites (Scottrade, Etrade, Ameritrade) and picked the one that offered the best signup deal at the time (for me, it was Ameritrade with free trading for 30 days and a $100 sign on bonus if you started with 10k or more).

   I took advantage of the commission free trading and earned a little profit for the first month…honestly though it was my long term investments that yielded the most returns. Also you have to be careful with buying and selling in short periods of time otherwise you will be labeled a "day trader" which subjects your account to more restrictive rules. Read up on some of these things, then find a good trade site and start trading!

   Now’s probably a good time to buy into stocks…we’re in a economic slump now so there’s some good values out there. My other piece of "newbie" advice is to go with well known stocks, not the longshots…i put some money into a few penny stocks and got burned. Good Luck!

5. I highly recommend learning about stock options. You can buy options much cheaper than buying stock itself, also you benefit from much more if things go your way. I taught myself..I don’t have much money, and you don’t need much to start. I use optionsxpress.com they have tons of information about trading, not just options, but many types of securities. I’ve used others before ameritrade, and scotttrade. So far OX is my favorite. Its has a very simple layout and can project your positions based on your input. Options are kind of a tough concept to grab because we don’t regularly use options to make everyday purchases(wouldn’t that be nice)..but it will make sense when you read the Education tab and start learning. They let you take practice positions(no money) also, to see how you would do in a real situation. Try it. Enjoy.

6. for online trading first u have a need of demat a/c in indibulls or other. then u have to install the on line software for trading in shares. the stockbrocking firm will provide u all these thingin return u have to pay brokerage charge to company.

7. There’s no difference between on-line trading and regular trading. Unless you understand some of the basics, going to on-line trading sites is an absolute waste of time

   Start your investing/trading education by learning why you should invest, and the importance of being able to make your own decisions. See how the pros have done it. Start by reading, What Works on Wall Street by James O’Shaunessey, Beating the Street and One Up on Wall Street both by Peter Lynch, The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom, Trading For A Living by Alexander Elder; “Mastering the Trade” by John Caster; “How to Make Money in Stocks” by William O’Neil; and The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas

   Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance. While at MSN read the Commentaries by Jim Jubak, Jon Markman, Harry Domash, and Liz Pullman Weston. Following the strategy lab analysts to get a feel for what the pro’s are doing and why. This site has some basic information for beginners. If any site offers free information, take it.
   Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are Investopedia.com, Stock Charts.com, and 1source4stocks.com
   Visit some of the more professional websites like Zacks.com, Smart Money, Schaeffers.com, Trading Trend, Trading Markets, these website will have advertisers who are worth looking into also. And remember, if they offer free information, get it.

   Attend all the free seminars you can, just be careful and don’t get pressured into anything you really don’t want or need. Most schools offer courses in finance and economics, but very few will have courses on the mechanics of the investment markets, if they do try taking the course. You may want to consider on-line courses, the New York Institute of Finance use to have such courses. Try to get some fee information from the stocks exchanges they all have (had) free booklets, SIAC and some of the regulators (FINRA SEC MSRB CBOE) may provide some free literature.

   What do you need to go into the market?
   1 – A written sound trading/investment plan with rules that will not only help you but more importantly protect you, mostly from yourself.
   2 – Sufficient trading/investment capital. Use your own money, there’s no need to go into debt so that you trade/invest.
   3 – A written money management program in place. Remember never invest 100% of your capital into any one security and never have 100% of your capital invested.
   4 – A full and complete understanding of the rules & regulations of the industry.

   After you learn the basics, then you can go into the markets,
   but to do it the other way you’re going to endup with a very costly education.

8. Open a brokerage account and I will help you for FREE. (I am a Portfolio Manager)