Day Trading: Full Time Job

I find day trading to be a very promising strategy of making quick money no matter what stock market conditions are at any given time. The basic concept is to buy large amount of shares for same company, follow the stock price fluctuations very closely, and sell after a small jump in share prices within a few minutes or hours. The idea is that stock prices will follow a sinusoidal trend when they go up or down. Thus, if one picks correct entry and exit points, one can make money under any circumstances.

I tried day trading for a few weeks in the past and I made good money with 90% success rate. However, I was purely experimenting and I ended up paying huge chunks of my profit to brokerage company as commission fee ($7 per trade). Any serious day trader should use dedicated software and broker companies to prevent their wins get decimated by broker firms. My conclusion was day trading is not for people with full-time jobs since it impacts your daily work and productivity. However, serious day traders can make a good living. All you need is time, a fast computer and steel nerves. What you do not need is full time job.

GE Big Winner, Two Upgrades

GE was upgraded by two analysts today with price target $18 per share. However, I sold GE based on 3% Return Strategy which teaches me not to be greedy, we will see. I think GE still has lots of room to go higher, stock price is still around it's 50 day moving average. But again, I just sticked to the strategy.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

06 November 2009 Transactions:

- SOLD 200 SHARES OF GE AT $15.10
- Commission $7

06 November 2009 Positions:

160 SHARES OF INTC

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,515
Net Gain: $515 ... 10 days

Intel Is Buy

Dow Jones up 200 points, very bullish activity, even though there was very little economic data to support the price action. Today, I sold TJX and bought INTC. I will change 3% strategy next week. I will hold on little longer to increase return on investment and I believe INTEL has more upside potential.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

05 November 2009 Transactions:

- SOLD 80 SHARES OF TJX AT $38.80

- BOUGHT 160 SHARES OF INTC AT $18.80
- Commission $14

05 November 2009 Positions:
200 SHARES OF GE

160 SHARES OF INTC

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,382
Net Gain: $382 ... 9 days

Stocks Gave Up Gains in Last Hour

I think the stock market will pull back little bit more, so I was not out looking to buy stocks today. I considered to short Gold or long Dollar but did not have time to do homework during the day to pull the trigger. After hours, Cisco earnings was very bullish. I will consider to buy Cisco or Intel tomorrow.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

04 November 2009 Transactions:

N/A

04 November 2009 Positions:
80 SHARES OF TJX
200 SHARES OF GE

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,293
Net Gain: $293 ... 8 days

Arena Resources: Dark Horse

Today's big news was Warren Buffet's purchase of Burlington Northern, which lifted both Industrial and Energy stocks. I bought Arena Resources Inc. (ARD) shares on the news and it was a great call with ARD up 5% for today. Actually, Arena Resources is my dark horse and I am planning to buy-and-hold it's shares once we switch strategy next week.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

03 November 2009 Transactions:
- BOUGHT 80 SHARES OF ARD AT $38.10

- SOLD 80 SHARES OF ARD AT $39.24
- Commission $14

03 November 2009 Positions:
80 SHARES OF TJX
200 SHARES OF GE

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,332
Net Gain: $332 ... 7 days

Back to Basics: Buy GE

Our strategy today was to buy GE or SRS based on pre-market futures data this morning. We end up buying GE on positive data. It was an up and down day but we ended day in positive return. I think 3% return has been working well for me, however, high comission rate and ROI is not satisfactory. Moreover, with market volatility it almost feels like day trading. I work full time and I do not think day trading is good for my work.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

02 November 2009 Transactions:
- BOUGHT 200 SHARES OF GE AT $14.40
- Commission $7

02 November 2009 Positions:
80 SHARES OF TJX
200 SHARES OF GE

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,274
Net Gain: $274 ... 6 days

Double Dip Scare

Not a good day. Dow Jones up 200 points one day and down 200 points next day. There is too much uncertainty and I think Stock Market went a little ahead of itself. I made some money using SRS today. However, I really do not have a good sense for market direction at the moment. Next week's price action will be big. I am also considering to change the strategy next week.

3% Return Strategy:
- Buy a stock at weakness or strength
- Sell after 3% price increase, or 6% price drop

30 October 2009 Transactions:
- BOUGHT 300 SHARES OF SRS AT $10.20
- SOLD 300 SHARES OF SRS AT $10.50
- Commission $14

30 October 2009 Positions:
80 SHARES OF TJX

Account Balance:
Starting Account: $10,000
Current Account Value: $10,189
Net Gain: $189