New to trading wants to learn

F

fax

Hi everybody,

I've just started learning trading. I signed up in http://www.investopedia.com/ which is a simulator. Besides, I'm reading "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" (this is the first book on trading I've read).

My goal now is to learn. That's why I am going to go on reading. Apart from that, any advice would be appreciated. For example, if you see that something is wrong about my portfolio (it's written below) tell me what and why, please.


My portfolio (the numbers refers to quantity):

TFOBF TELEFONICA DE ARGENT SA 13 (I want to sell this stock but don't know why the simulator doesn't sell it)
http://www.google.com/finance?q=OTC:TFOBF

C CITIGROUP INC 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:C

MTE MAHANAGAR TELE NIGAM LTD ADS 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MTE

S SPRINT NEXTEL CORP 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:S

MTU MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MTU

HBAN HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:HBAN

RAD RITE AID CORP 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:RAD

JALSY JAPAN AIRLINES ADR 500 (I think it won't go bankrupt)
http://www.google.com/finance?q=OTC:JALSY

AEG AEGON N.V. 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:AEG

ALU ALCATEL-LUCENT ADR 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:ALU

BSX BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:BSX

OTE HELLENIC TELECOMM ORG 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:OTE

MFG MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP ADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MFG

MOT MOTOROLA INC 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MOT

NMR NOMURA HOLDINGS INC ADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:NMR

Q QWEST CMMNCTNS INTL INC 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:Q

STM STMICROELECTRONICS NV 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:STM

ERIC LM ERICSSON TELEPHONEADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ERIC

UMC UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:UMC


Since I've started the market (SP 500) gained 2.06% and I lost 2.05%. I'm doing bad (lost money and not beat the market) but hope things will improve.


Finally, I just want to say that I don't have time to do day trading. I prefer mid-term or long-term trading (from one month up to one year trading).


Thanks in advance,
 
Quote from fax:

Hi everybody,

I've just started learning trading. I signed up in http://www.investopedia.com/ which is a simulator. Besides, I'm reading "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" (this is the first book on trading I've read).

My goal now is to learn. That's why I am going to go on reading. Apart from that, any advice would be appreciated. For example, if you see that something is wrong about my portfolio (it's written below) tell me what and why, please.


My portfolio (the numbers refers to quantity):

TFOBF TELEFONICA DE ARGENT SA 13 (I want to sell this stock but don't know why the simulator doesn't sell it)
http://www.google.com/finance?q=OTC:TFOBF

C CITIGROUP INC 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:C

MTE MAHANAGAR TELE NIGAM LTD ADS 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MTE

S SPRINT NEXTEL CORP 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:S

MTU MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL 100
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MTU

HBAN HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:HBAN

RAD RITE AID CORP 50
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:RAD

JALSY JAPAN AIRLINES ADR 500 (I think it won't go bankrupt)
http://www.google.com/finance?q=OTC:JALSY

AEG AEGON N.V. 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:AEG

ALU ALCATEL-LUCENT ADR 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:ALU

BSX BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:BSX

OTE HELLENIC TELECOMM ORG 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:OTE

MFG MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP ADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MFG

MOT MOTOROLA INC 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MOT

NMR NOMURA HOLDINGS INC ADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:NMR

Q QWEST CMMNCTNS INTL INC 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:Q

STM STMICROELECTRONICS NV 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:STM

ERIC LM ERICSSON TELEPHONEADS 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:ERIC

UMC UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP 75
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:UMC


Since I've started the market (SP 500) gained 2.06% and I lost 2.05%. I'm doing bad (lost money and not beat the market) but hope things will improve.


Finally, I just want to say that I don't have time to do day trading. I prefer mid-term or long-term trading (from one month up to one year trading).


Thanks in advance,
More...


you;re investing - not trading. Trading would involve at least a few round-trips and possibly some shorting.

and why so heavy in financials?
 
There's no reason why I've invested so heavy in financials. As I still don't know when to buy a stock, I just bought those with high market capitalization and low price. Any advice?

What do you mean when you say "round-trips and some shorting"?

Thanks in advance
 
Quote from fax:

There's no reason why I've invested so heavy in financials. As I still don't know when to buy a stock, I just bought those with high market capitalization and low price. Any advice?

What do you mean when you say "round-trips and some shorting"?

Thanks in advance
More...

first of all, forget about "investopedia". its rubbish

secondly, you seem more like an investor in stocks, rather than a trader. you should thus have a look at some books by "Jim Rogers". he is a great mind when it comes to investing. apart from that I couldn't recommend any others as i dont trade stocks, nor do I take trades longer than 6 months.

thirdly, you could not have picked a worse time to invest in financials. look at gold producers, particularly in australia. agricultural stocks could do well also.

fourth, buy the book "trading in the zone - mark douglas" before you do anything.

fifth, stay away from internet forums.
 
If Investopedia is rubbish, where can I learn how to trade? I don't have enough money yet.

Thanks for you recommendation on Jim Rogers' books and about my stocks.

I tried to read "Trading in the Zone" but gave up -seems boring.
 
Quote from fax:

If Investopedia is rubbish, where can I learn how to trade? I don't have enough money yet.

Thanks for you recommendation on Jim Rogers' books and about my stocks.

I tried to read "Trading in the Zone" but gave up -seems boring.
More...

It entirely depends upon how you want to trade, and what you want to trade. I can't help you with regards to stock picks but I can recommend one book which I'm adamant is great - http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Mone...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263819333&sr=8-1

If you want to trade commodity futures and forex, I can recommend a lot of books to you.

Also, if you are going to be taking trades with at least a 1 month time frame, you are going to want to learn about the fundamentals behind each market. In my case, I read literature specific to gold, or cotton, or crude oil, etc.... Even if you are going to trade stocks, it would definitely be in your best interests to understand the underlying market that the industry deals in.

If you want to learn technical analysis, the majority of literature out there is rubbish, but you are going to have to read it anyway so that you will slowly come to udnerstand what is junk and what isn't. john murphy's book is a great primer, but youll want to read quite a lot more. robert miner's book is also decent.

additionally, i highly recommend your "stick with" trading in the zone. i guarantee you, it will be the best book you ever read. perhaps you should go out and actually try and trade for a few months before reading. then you'll be able to relate a lot more.

you will want to bookmark some financial news outlets, but keep in mind that a lot of their "analysis" is wrong. bloomberg.com , reuters.com , ft.com, economist.com, wsj.com , newsweek.com , telegraph.co.uk, english.caijing.com.cn are some good ones

finally, you have to trade real money. you can read as many books as you want, but at the end of the day you have to be able to perform on the playing field in real time.
 
I agree, "How to make money in stocks" by william o'neil is a great book. Try reading Investors business daily newspaper also.
 
Thanks for recommending another book and some websites. I am going to read fundamental analysis books when I finish reading some books about technical analysis. I'll follow your advice and read "Trading in the zone" in a few months.

Why do you say that the majority of the technical analysis books are rubbish? How do I recognize them?

@Mac: Thanks for recommending that website.
 
Quote from fax:

Thanks for recommending another book and some websites. I am going to read fundamental analysis books when I finish reading some books about technical analysis. I'll follow your advice and read "Trading in the zone" in a few months.

Why do you say that the majority of the technical analysis books are rubbish? How do I recognize them?

@Mac: Thanks for recommending that website.
More...

because they deal with methods that every single charting platform has these days.
 
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