The currency market is the only true 24-hour market in the world. With the largest daily trading volume and three major trading centers, there is plenty of liquidity and news flow around the clock. Day traders rely on intraday volatility to produce quick and large market movements. Volatility equals big profits or big losses.
Personal Characteristics Needed To Succeed in Forex Day Trading
In order to have a fighting chance of becoming a successful day trader,
you should possess the following characteristics:
Patience
Discipline
Independent-minded
Realistic about losses
Characteristics of Unsuccessful Traders
It has been estimated that 90 percent of the individuals who attempt to day trade the market will fail. Therefore, if you want to have any chance at success, put all of your effort into doing the right things.
Having insufficient capital in the account
Betting too much on each position
Not cutting losses quickly and not using stop-loss orders
Not understanding the importance of money management and risk
Having no predetermined trading strategy
Using money needed for living expenses and future commitments (college education, retirement) with which to trade
Operating in a fear-and-greed mode
Not getting an education prior to trading and not being a true student of the market
Treating trading as a lark or a hobby
Not having a passion for the market
Being impatient, emotionally unstable and making irrational decisions
Not having sufficient knowledge about the instruments being traded
Trying to pick market tops and bottoms
Listening to other people's opinions of the market
Lacking discipline and the ability to learn from mistakes
Chasing momentum
The currency market offers a wealth of opportunities for day traders. This makes it an extremely easy market for traders who also have a full-time job. However, no one wants to spend every minute of their free time staring at their trading screens and looking for the perfect opportunity. In fact this is probably the worst thing to do because it can foster over trading. To be truly successful with day trading currencies, it is important for traders to focus on picking the right currencies to trade and the right time to trade them.