How to do Intraday Trading? [Beginner’s Guide]

Last updated on December 27, 2023

What is Intraday Trading?

The purchasing and selling of a security (stocks or other financial instruments) during a single trading day is known as intraday trading. The times for trading are set by the exchange. Stocks are systematically purchased and sold in big numbers to realize profits within the day.

In this case, stocks are bought to generate gains by capitalizing on stock’s price movement rather than by holding it for long term. To profit from stock trading, the price changes of the shares are therefore tracked.

Let’s examine the fundamentals of intraday trading if wondering how to get started.

How to do Intraday Trading for Beginners? [Step by Step Guide]

• A trading account and a DEMAT account must be opened to start trading stocks. Open your DEMAT account today.

• To keep intraday trading distinct, a trader who is experienced with the stock market and wants to give it a try could open a new account.

• It is simpler to keep track of things when you keep a separate account. 

• Due to the varied tax treatment of intraday trades, establishing a separate account simplifies tax calculations.

• After that, you can join up for the optimum intraday trading tools. Following the creation of an account, you can access several features that will help them with intraday trading. 
• Examine the daily charts for a while before starting to trade as one would be familiar with the patterns of price movement. 

• Technical analysis is provided by several tools, and these may also be helpful.

Types of day-traders

There are primarily two categories of intraday traders: 

• Independent traders 
• Traders employed by institutions

The majority of day traders who rely on intraday trading for their livelihood are affiliated with bigger institutions.

As a result, they receive some of the institution’s advantages, including a direct line, trading desk, solid cash, and analytical tools. They look for opportunities that offer quick returns, and their resources also enable them to take advantage of safer trading opportunities.

Individual traders have two options

Assisting others in managing their finances or utilizing their funds for trade. They frequently have ties to a brokerage and have access to additional resources.

However, because they lack the resources available to institutional intraday traders, they are at a disadvantage. As a result, they take more risk in their trading methodology. For modest price movements in highly liquid stocks, individual traders rely more on swing trading and technical research.

Intraday Traders Need Access to Some High-End Instruments and Financial Services [How to do Intraday Trading 101]

Here are the following:

Access to a trading desk

Traders that manage enormous sums of money for major institutions are typically the only ones who do this. A dealing desk enables intraday traders to immediately execute orders, which is essential when there are quick price changes.

Numerous news sources

The majority of the opportunities for capitalization are provided by the news, which is an essential instrument for intraday traders. Therefore, if one learns about a big event quickly, they have more opportunities to make use of it. A typical trading room might contain software that scans the news for significant developments and receives constant coverage from several news networks.

Analytical software

Using trading software will provide one an advantage over the competition. Some traders depend less on news and more on technical indicators. Traders employ a variety of software programs to examine data, including backtesting, genetic and neural applications, and automatic pattern recognition.

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What Are The Traits That Make An Intraday Trader Successful? [How to do Intraday Trading 101]

Starting day trade is not a decision that should be taken lightly. While the dream of earning well by working just a few hours a day can be turned into reality, the path to it requires hard work.  Intraday trade is tricky to master, and the terrain will be rocky initially.

But, these are some characteristics that successful intraday traders share.

Knowledge and experience

Professional day traders have a vast wealth of knowledge of the marketplace. If one makes an attempt to day trade without understanding the fundamentals first, one risks losing money.

Technical analysis and the ability to read charts are handy skills to have, but one needs to understand the market to make sense of the data one retrieves through analysis. Take the time to diligently understand the nature of the product one is trading in.

Sufficient capital

As a day trader, one should only use risk capital or money you can afford to lose, to invest. Such restraint protects one from financial catastrophe and keeps them from making emotionally charged decisions.

A substantial amount of capital is frequently needed to properly take advantage of market changes in intraday trading. If the resources are available to access a margin account, it can prove advantageous because unforeseen fluctuations can lead to margin calls without enough notice.

Strategy

Trading is a zero-sum game and thus, a trader needs to have something that gives an advantage over others in the market. There are different kinds of strategies one can use, some of which are described in the next section. Work on these strategies, and hone them until one finds a way that works.

Whatever approach intraday traders employ, they often aim for a stock with high volatility.

Discipline

A solid plan needs to be supported by sound discipline. Because they do not adhere to their standards when making trading decisions, many traders lose money. Any profession takes discipline to succeed. 

The erratic character of the market has a significant impact on intraday trading. If a stock’s price moves around a lot throughout the day, traders may become interested in it. There are numerous potential causes for this variation.

Day traders also choose highly liquid equities since they can readily adjust their positions without having an impact on the stock’s price. Traders frequently take a buying position when the price of a stock increases. One might decide to short sell it if the price drops so that one can benefit from the decline.

Check this out – Best Paper Trading Website in India

What are the Best Strategies? (Intraday Trading For Beginners)

A trader who trades intraday has a variety of options, including swing trading, news trading, and arbitrage. These tactics have been improved so they can minimize losses while producing gains that are generally constant.

Here are some strategies explained

Scalping:

This aims to generate a variety of little profits from day-to-day price swings.

Range trading:

Range trading bases its buying and selling choices mostly on levels of support and resistance.

News-based trading:

This method makes timely use of the volatility that recent news events produce to seize profitable trading opportunities.

High-frequency trading (HFT):

These tactics use sophisticated algorithms to exploit momentary breakdowns in market efficiency.

Things to Remember While Doing Intraday Trading

Which stocks to choose – Before the market closes, trade positions must be squared off in intraday trading. As a result, one should always confirm that the stocks they select have sufficient liquidity to permit them to do this. Large-cap stocks are highly favored because of this. This lessens the possibility that the trade will have an impact on the stock’s share price.

Timing – Timing is the most important aspect for intraday traders. Sometimes all it takes to turn a profit into a loss is the failure to take a position at the proper time.

Experts advise against opening a position at the beginning of a trading session. It is advisable to wait it out because the first hour of trading is the most turbulent. 

Choosing a broker – A broker that assists with both research and technical analysis is the one to pick. To optimize the intraday benefits, access to the appropriate tools is required. Since there are many transactions involved in intraday trading, one should always look for brokers who have cheap brokerage fees.

Read Also: Best Intraday Trading Tips for Beginners

Is Intraday Trading For You?

Intraday trading can be incredibly complex and challenging. 

Here are some of the pointers that can help to decide whether Intraday trading is for you:

• One has to take the time to understand how the market operates. Make sure that goals, financial capacity, and risk tolerance are all defined properly. 

• If a person is willing to accept risks and has the patience to monitor the market carefully, intraday trading can be good.

• Intraday trading seems appealing and makes claims of high returns. However, the dangers are considerably greater than in delivery trading. 

• Intraday trading can prove to be challenging if one intends to balance it with another work that requires concentration for the majority of the day.

• One must attentively monitor market fluctuations and act quickly to take opportunities if they want to be successful as an intraday trader. To become a more effective day trader, one must also put in the effort to refine their technical analysis abilities.

• Trading intraday takes time. Since the profits depend on it, one needs time to experiment with numerous techniques and make them ideal. 

• There is no half-hearted effort in intraday trading because of its pace. Traders must always be on guard and aware. 

• Once determined by the excitement of intraday trading appeal, individuals should start by making baby steps. 

• Do the study and pick a few stocks that one can easily keep an eye on. Avoid attempting to eat everything. 

• When making trade-related decisions, maintain composure and set emotions aside. Maintaining composure will make it simpler to concentrate and carry out the ideas.

Conclusion

It is no surprise that so many people are lured to try intraday trading as it gives them a wealth of advantages. The market needs intraday traders to be active and effective. One could succeed as an intraday trader if they have the means and are ready to improve on their skills.