How to Learn to Trade Stocks Online
In the past, you had to hire a full-service brokerage house to handle your trades of stocks. With the Internet, you now have hundreds of websites of online brokers who have an abundance of research and charge commissions that are a fraction of those charged by full-service brokers. It's no wonder, then, that so many people are going to them to build their nest eggs.
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Instructions
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Learn by doing because it's easy. First, establish an account that will involve a deposit of shares in companies or cash. Each online broker will have a lot of research in stocks you want to buy, which will make it easier than ever to make a choice. Begin by choosing the stock you'd like to buy, then read as much as you can about the company and its prospects. Make sure that every stock you intend to buy fit into your investment goals, whether it be growth, income or a combination of the two.
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Place your order, but first get information about the company before making the buy. You will need the ticker symbol of the stock---GM is the ticker symbol of General Motors---the number of shares you want to buy and on which exchange the shares are traded. For example, New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and the American Stock Exchange are three of several you will find.
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Sell shares almost the same way you bought them. First, make sure that you have shares to sell. Second, note the ticker symbol of the company as well as the number of shares you want to sell. You can sell your shares for what they are going for when the trade is executed or you can put in the price you hope to get for them. If you do the latter, you'll need to provide an expiration date for the sale.
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Check your account balance on the third day after the sale is consummated and find the proceeds of your sale, less any commission. You are free to keep the money in the account as it will grow because most online brokerages pay interest, or make another purchase.
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Cancel the transaction or change your order to buy or sell shares as long as the original order has not been executed. Since you are doing business with an online brokerage house, most orders are made within seconds of when your order was received. Stocks with few shares and those that are infrequently traded may take longer to execute.
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References
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