Know About The Terms In Option Trading

By Dr. Asoka Selvarajah

Definition Of Options Trading

You want to enter the stock market but would like to limit the investment that you would have to make. Then you need to try option trading. It could give you a much bigger bang for your buck. Option trading commits you to paying a premium in return for a right to buy or sell a specified amount of shares within a specified time period.

During that time you are free to complete the purchase or sale at the price decided initially. If you do not honor the contract the premium that you pay can be lost. Time period in option trading contracts are generally about a month and are settled at dates that are fixed by the stock exchanges that could be the third Saturday of the month. Once this period is over, as an option trader you have lost all rights to make the trade and your premium remains forfeit.

Basics

You would have to be deeply involved in stock market trade to understand the difference between stock trading and option trading. If you as a newcomer still want to be involved in option trading you must make an effort to understand terminology used and the ideas behind the concept. The terms by used by traders in option trading are quite specific and have their own meanings. When you go in for option trading you would have to decide a price for the stock you want to trade in , the number of shares, and the time period in which you would make such a trade.

In option trading there is no binding that you have to honor the commitments made, but the premium that you pay to retain these rights to exercise your option could be forfeited. The payment of the premium enables you to lock in the price of the stock for the time period agreed to, and if you find that during this time the value of the stock has appreciated, you are free to make the balance payment and take delivery of the stocks. Conversely if the value goes down and you feel that it is not worthwhile buying the agreed stocks you could cancel the option and forget about the premium payment that you made. This could be construed as a loss, but would be much less than the loss you would have made if you had purchased the agreed stock at the start of the period at the price that was prevailing at the time.

Should the stock price fall or merely remain below the exercise price, the call option buyer cannot exercise the option at all, but can either sell the option and thereby exit the position at a loss or breakeven. Alternatively, he can hold onto it with the expectation that the market value of the option will rise, dependent upon factors such as the underlying stock price, volatility, time to expiry and more.

Usually, the options of leverage can control a bulk amount of the original stock for relatively small capital expenditure compared with buying or selling the underlying tool. This makes options more attractive because there exists higher profits on investment than just trading the original instrument. There are also far more trading opportunities with lower risks that can be known only when you know what you are doing?

What do the words mean?

Blocks of 100 shares are considered for option trading.

The buying option of the underlying instrument at the strike price is referred to as a call option.

Put option: The option giving the right to sell the underlying instrument at the strike price

The price that you agree to when the option trading contract is made is called the strike price.

In option trading, for call options you are "in the money" if your strike price is below the market price of the stock. For put options, if the strike price is higher than the current market price, you are again said to be "in the money".

You are considered to be "out of the money" if your strike price is more than the existing price at the time of the option and you put in a call option, or you put in a put option and the strike price is lower than the existing price. - 23229

About the Author:

Which Of These 7 Deadly Mistakes of Online Trading Are You Making Right Now? Get Dr. Asoka Selvarajah's critical Free Report, The 7 Deadly Mistakes Of Online Trading and surge your trading profits, starting today. Visit His Online Trading Site OnlineTradingRebel.Com Right Now!

Day Trading - How To Succeed?

By Dr. Asoka Selvarajah

Definition Of Day Trading

If you buy stocks on a particular day and also sell them again before the market closes you could be said to be indulging in day trading. It was earlier felt that only investment professional working for companies that took care of investments for their customers could practice day trading. But now that the internet has allowed people to trade online from their homes, a lot of casual traders have also started day trading.

Risks in day trading

Traders have now found that day trading is one of the best ways of making money. Whether you are into day trading as a professional or are just trying to increase the sources for your income, day trading has proved its potential for making money if due care is taken and proper norms are followed. Day trading can be risky but unless you take risks and make the correct decisions, there is no way you can maximize the profits from day trading.

Tips to follow while day trading

To make money on the stock market you have to buy when the prices of stocks are low and sell them when the prices go up. This is a very simple rule, but deciding when the price is low enough for you to buy stocks, and whether the price has appreciated enough for you to make a profit can be quite tricky and could decide whether your venture into day trading is successful or not.

You MUST be well informed about the stock market, by reading all the newspapers that generally carry such information. Surf the net or view one of the many channels that cater exclusively to stock market news and happenings. However, ensure also that you do not suffer from an overload of information, which can overwhelm you with its sheer volume. Instead, read, surf or view only those that you are comfortable with. See that your day trading activities are restricted to just a few stocks (if you choose to day trade in stock markets), and that you are fully conversant with all the information regarding these companies. Make sure that you know how the stock market is behaving in general and how shares of certain blue chip companies are moving.

Select only those stocks that constantly show substantial movement, i.e. volatility, because it is only such stocks that can make a profit for you via conventional day trading. If they lack movement remove them from your list of stocks in which you will trade daily (yes, you CAN make money from inert stocks via options, but that is beyond the scope of our discussion here). Learn to make a quick but accurate analysis of the movement of the stocks that you are interested in, so that you can take early decisions and gain from this action. This is best done through becoming excellent at technical Analysis - the art of predicting stock price movements from price charts. Remember that a small movement everyday may mean just a percent or two, but when added up throughout the year could make a huge sum. So you may have to base your day trading activities on just a few percentage points.

Keep your emotions always in check. A very good profit van also be followed by a loss and you need to keep your perspective and constantly see that you are ahead of the game, and not allow emotions to cloud your judgment.

Summary

Sudden fortune may not come your way the day you start day trading! However, a steady accretion of cash can definitely take you to the goal of becoming the wealthy person you desire to be. The key is to be well informed, maintain a SMALL list of stocks that you KNOW as well as you know your own relatives, keep on top of what the markets are doing, analyze them continually, and make the right decisions at the correct time without getting too psychologically bogged down in the consequences of your action - either on the profit or the loss side. - 23229

About the Author:

Which Of These 7 Deadly Mistakes of Online Trading Are You Making Right Now? Get Dr. Asoka Selvarajah's critical Free Report, The 7 Deadly Mistakes Of Online Trading and surge your trading profits, starting today. Visit His Online Trading Site OnlineTradingRebel.Com Right Now!

Stress Free Forex Trading with Forex VPS

By James Smith

Forex VPS is a leading service provider for VPS forex hosting. By using a VPS, ar a virtual private server, you alleviate many of the problems associated with a shared hosting account. When many people are using one server sometimes things slow down or other times it's hard to open a page. VPS is a server being used by only one person. Imagine using a server alone in the whole world. The main server will be divided into several servers and distributed and used as forex VPS.

With the dedicated server you will have your own software's and operating system. This virtual server is like a branch of the bigger universal server but still operates individually. This server is usually used by forex traders and is referred to as forex VPS, ie hosting for your forex trading requirements. The dditional beneift of using a VPS is that your MetaTrader EAs will run 24/7, even while you are sleeping. This means that you do not need to have your computer switched on for your trades to be placed.

A virtual private server is like a dedicated server in a number of ways - you can install applications, reboot the server and access the server root without worrying about affecting other users. There is also a shared element to the hosting because you will have to share hardware with other users. When it comes to forex trading there are traders who don't want to run MetaTrader platforms on their computers. By accessing the services of Forex VPS you can have your own server.

If you are a trader and like to trade on a regular basis, subscribing to forex VPS services will let you trade without having the computer on the rest of the day. You can trade through a metatrader broker by simply logging into the site; you will view it and manage the account then start trading immediately.

For those traders who run their expert advisers without interruptions, forex VPS is the ideal service for you. It is always on-line, and does not reboot when trading. Power outages do not affect it and the best part is that the computer can be off. With all its benefits, you can also use this kind of server to test WebPages right before you make them available to the public. It lets you test applications and different software's without having to reboot the whole server.

The automatic restart feature is a vital specification, incase the server is rebooted and you need to automatically restart. The 24/7 access feature is needed because you should be able to access your forex VPS at any time, and from anywhere in theh world.

In terms of selecting your forex hosting company, there are a large number of providers who are in the market, and this number is growing daily. Some of the leading forex VPS providers are; EzforexHost, MetaTrader Hosting and Forex Hoster.

All in all, most of the forex VPS hosting providers offer pretty much the the same specs within their hosting accounts. The features that you should look out for especially are a pre-installed MetaTrader preferably with the most recent edition, MetaTrader 4. Also ensure that the hosting service is compatible with all brokers, as there are some brokers which can only use certain operating systems. This will allow you to download and install trading platforms from brokers to your VPS. Finally, double check that the EA you have is compatible with the VPS host. - 23229

About the Author:

For more information about forex trading, forex hosting and Forex VPS go to Forex Village. They have considerable experience when dealing with forex hosting and MetaTrader Expert Advisors.

Oil Futures Contracts Make a Sound Investment

By Derek Powell

Invest in oil futures contracts as they offer various trading options and solid risk management. Among all commodities, light sweet crude oil, which is commonly used in heating oil, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, is the most popular worldwide. As such, it is traded rather aggressively.

Oil futures contracts carry a legally binding agreement to purchase or sell a set amount of oil at a predetermined price. This price is projected and based on supply and demand. The price of oil fluctuates daily in a volatile market. Investors have the option of settling for cash or arranging for the delivery of actual oil to a set location.

Trading in oil futures contracts is specified in units of barrels. Usually this involves a number of grades, which are used both in the United States and internationally. a standard contract equates to 1000 barrels of oil, but for investment portfolios, the agreement usually relates to 500 barrels of crude oil, i.e. half the size of a standard futures contract

The major exchanges for oil futures contracts are the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange. Trading could be for oil delivery in a few months or several years in the future. Typically, three months is the norm for a contract.

There are several types of oil futures contracts. With a short hedge contract, investors buy futures to sell oil. In a long hedge agreement, investors buy futures to buy oil. Generally, a portfolio would include a mix of both. For several years, there has been increased interest in oil among investors who consider them a viable option to stocks and bonds.

Oil futures contracts are often used in risk management of portfolios. Investors, by buying or selling a security, purchase or sell a future security with the opposite risk. In this way losses and gains counterbalance each other and also balance the risk in a portfolio between current and future market prices. It goes without saying that a more balanced a portfolio, the less risk there is for a major loss.

Oil futures contracts are commonly used for hedging, most especially amongst businesses that make products or offer services that use oil, in particular utility companies and airlines. Whilst it is difficult to set a price for these products or services buying or selling futures contracts in this way helps to reduce the risk and overcome the constant fluctuations in pricing.

Investors who hope to make a profit based on future prices will often speculate with oil futures contracts. Banks and other financial institutions generally make up the majority of speculators and are thus important to the trading market. - 23229

About the Author:

Author Derek Powell has a lot of data about oil futures contracts. Check out http://www.thecommodityblog.com for up-to-date news.

Trading Strategy: Pyramid Your Profits!

By Jordan Weir

Are you one to throw caution to the wind, or do you cut your losses short, and let your profits run? It may surprise you to realize that while many traders think they cut their losses short, and let their profits run, there is a simple technique that will allow them greatly amplify those profits, while keeping their losses manageable. This technique is known as pyramiding your profits.

Risk management is one of the most crucial elements of your trading system. Badly managed risk will lead to eventual losses, while well managed risk will lead to profits. A basic principle of speculation is that no more then 5% of your portfolio should be at risk during any trade. On a $50000 portfolio, thats $2500 at risk. This does not mean that you cant invest more then $2500 into a given trade, but it does mean that when setting a stop loss, you need to decide on position sizing accordingly.

This can be easily demonstrated with an example. Let us say we have company XYZ trading at $20. There's strong support at $18, so we set a stop loss for 17.50. This means we have a potential $2.50 loss per share. If we are risking $2500, and can lose up to 2.50 per share on this one, 1000 shares should be our maximum position size.

Now lets say the stock then moves to 22.50, and you move your stop loss to $21. At this point, you've looked in $1000 in gains. To pyramid your profits, you then add shares to the position based on the profit made so far. At this point, you have made $1000 in gains, and your risk amount was $2500. Add these numbers together, and then divide by the difference between the current stock price, and the stop loss to get the number of shares you should add to the position. So 1000+2500=3500/1.50=2300 shares. By doing this, you greatly increase how much you make if it continues to go up, while still keeping losses minimal should it go against you.

So to recap. Stop loss at 21, we bought 1000 shares at 20, and 2300 at 22.50. If it goes down to 21, we gain 1000 on the first 1000 shares, and lose 3450 on the batch of 2300 shares, for a total loss of $2500 " the original risk amount. However, if it goes up to 25 as we originally forecast as our profit target, we've made $5000 on the original 1000 shares, and another $5750 on the second batch of 2300 shares. This is a total gain of 10750, while never risking more then $2500 in capital. The same idea can be applied to shorting as well. Its all about doing more of whats working, and less of what isn't.

This strategy is useful both for long term investors, and for shorter term traders. Long term investors can use this to scale into upwards trending stocks to safely generate massive profits, while shorter term investors can use this strategy to minimize risk, while maximizing their overall gains.

You may have heard the saying, you never go broke taking a profit. This idea is the polar opposite to pyramiding your profits, and is in fact, dangerous. To succeed in the investing world, your profits must be substantially higher then your losses, and that is whats accomplished by a trading strategy such as pyramiding your profits. Cut your losses short, and let your profits run.

The key to success in trading is to have big gains, and small losses. By doing so, you can be wrong half the time, and still make money in the market. By pyramiding your profits, you insure big gains and small losses. Using this stock trading strategy, you can truly cut your losses short, and let your profits run. - 23229

About the Author:

Don't even CONSIDER trading another stock before checking out Jordan's website on Stock Trading Stategies. Learn about Stock Option Stategies, ETFs, shorting and more by visiting the Stock and Options Guru! If you want to make money trading stocks, you need to see this information!