Many people who do forex trading online love the concept of day trading due to the high leverages hoping that they will be able to get some quick returns. Whereas day trading can be a good strategy, it can result into massive losses if its not conducted with discipline and knowledge on its dynamics. Here are the common mistakes that a lot of day traders make and end up making big losses.
Prepositioning for news
Major news is known to move the market only that the direction is never known in advance.
Most traders normally anticipate the direction of market movement and position their trades accordingly. This is a poor practice as the trader will end up making losses should the markets move in the opposite direction upon the release of the news.
Trading immediately after the news is released
News events are known to cause whipsaw like action in the financial markets. This is because there is no liquidity and the news reports havent been thoroughly assessed. At this point, the market is moving aggressively in both directions and taking positions at this time without a solid trading plan to buffer you from making losses can be very detrimental to your trades.
Averaging down
Many day traders like to average down when they realize that they have a losing position.
This will not only waste time but money as well. Instead of holding onto a losing position by averaging down, you need to close the position and stick to the ones that are doing well. Besides, disciplined traders know how to stick to their trading plans and there is no need to average down if it was not part your trading strategy.
Risking a lot of capital
Many day traders think that excessive risk is equivalent to excessive returns. They therefore end up risking a large amount of their capital hoping that they will make large sums of money during the day trades. The results are always the opposite. It is advisable that you do not risk more than 1% of your capital. This implies that the difference between your entry and stop points should never exceed one percent of your total account. Adopting this will ensure that you manage your risks effectively and avoid losing a lot of money in a single trade or a single day trading.
Unrealistic expectations
A lot of people who do forex trading online are victims of unrealistic expectations. They set up trades hoping to make a lot of money and in the process, they fail to watch the markets and conduct a thorough market analysis before executing their trades. To be effective in day trading, one must learn to isolate expectations and emotions from the trading plans.