The latest news about stocks used to come from ticker-tapes and newspapers, but those previously valuable information sources can no longer keep up with the pace at which new information becomes available. Now, of course, the only place to get stock quotes is online—so if you’re not taking advantage of the multitudes of apps, alerts, and other tools created to provide market information, you’re definitely missing out on some invaluable sources of up-to-the-minute news. These tools aren’t guaranteed to increase your success rate at picking and trading stocks, but they’ll definitely help you improve the systems you use as a trader.
Choosing a trading platform or provider is an exercise in balance, because you need to weigh up the benefits of the various services offered, with the fees you pay for your trades. Often, the trading platforms with the best range of services have higher fees and commissions, or stipulate a minimum number of trades to reduce fees, or to access the platform at all.
Recommendations: The best option for you will depend on how much you plan to invest, and the volume of trades you make. Initially at least, look for a platform with a low account minimum and per-trade fee.
If you want to make a serious effort to make money trading, it’s vital that you have the ability to check accounts and make trades no matter where you happen to be. A good mobile trading app is therefore essential. Ideally you want one advanced with capabilities and near-desktop functionality. However, these can be on the pricey side, so it’s important to remember that you still need to balance cost and functionality in order to avoid eating into your profits.
If you want to get technical with your stock analyses, stock charts—which evaluate historical trends in order to predict future stock behaviour—are the way to go. These charts show you how a stock performs over time, which allows you to find patterns and other snippets of information that can give you valuable clues about how that stock might perform in the future.
Recommendations: Online brokers typically offer this functionality; otherwise, check out a website such as StockCharts.com, which has both free and upgraded premium memberships, and offers a range of charts as well as tutorials.
Searching for stocks can be a long and tedious business sometimes, simply due to the sheer number of trading options available. A good stock screener can make this whole process much easier, and a great deal faster. Stock screeners allow you to search for stocks according to your own pre-defined criteria, meaning that you can weed out stocks that aren’t what you’re looking for, and locate potential picks more quickly.
Recommendations: There are plenty of free stock screeners available online; examples include MarketWatch, Google Finance, and finviz.
One of the keys to success in stock trading is staying on top of the mountain of information that is generated every single trading day. One or two good news sites can be invaluable here, providing you with easy-access information, aggregated in one place, and updated regularly.
Recommendations: Briefing.com is one of the most popular sites for essential updates as well as stock tips. Seasonalysis is handy for looking at trends that develop over time.
