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Step 1
Complete your stock trading profile within an online trading platform to personalize your experience. Your profile will evolve as you buy and sell stocks, showing your day-to-day transactions as well as the balance on your trading account. Head to your trading profile with every visit to assess the value of your entire trading portfolio.
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Step 2
Play around with the charting tools in your stock trading software to see visual representations of different metrics. For example, test out line graphs that represent the 6-month, 1-year and 5-year performance levels of a particular stock. Use bar graphs when comparing the values of stocks within a market sector and pie charts to study how a company has financed its latest project.
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Step 3
Read background information, CEO profiles and product news for a few listed companies before using stock trading software. Your trading platform should offer information on past trading, prototypes and internal company changes to make the best decisions possible. This information is likely available by right-clicking on the stock symbol or hitting an information icon on screen.
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Step 4
Determine the time delay from the stock floor to your computer as you make your first set of trades. While a trading platform may claim that trades are made instantly, your Internet connection and browser may lead to a delay up to 5 minutes.
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Step 5
Utilize trading scenarios and practice runs on your trading software to determine how you buy and sell stocks. Your software may require a simple click and confirm or go through several pages to ensure that you understand the risks associated with online trading.
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Step 6
Set minimum and maximum prices for conditional orders as you get comfortable with a trading platform's buy-and-sell features. Conditional orders use values inserted by traders to dictate when shares are bought or sold. These orders allow day traders to focus on multiple stocks without worrying about dollar-to-dollar changes in stock values.
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Step 7
Find your comfort zone with domestic markets and traditional trading tools before venturing into foreign exchanges. Trading software designers like IR Dynamics offer foreign trading tools to American investors interested in speculation. Check out foreign exchange tools as you review your trading software's capabilities, but focus on bolstering your domestic portfolio through online trading.
