Started In Stock

[NakorOranges]

So I went ahead and got my account set up with questrade, and have already made some wonderful mistakes!

I bought two different stocks, one for 250, one for 750.

However I misread some info on questrade and bought them in american...on margin. and they've both gone down! ah well, this is what I was expecting :P

I had my sell stop set up backwards so it didn't work either *roll eyes*. In total its only costed me 18$ so not so bad haha. This is very much why I wanted to get out there and TRY it. Even with so little money on the line I can feel my heart beat and am compulsivly checking them, breaking my own rules etc. Got to learn to keep it under control.

Really do need to get that $1080 american payed though...

[Jungle]

Just wait the markets are yoyos right now. Use the live chat to ensure you know how to buy and sell on the proper exchanges, set up stop losses, limit orders etc. Pretty simple once you know how it's done.

[ccyk]

good thing you discover mistakes when little money is in stake.

[rfdrfd]

If you have any questions about questrade and how to place orders, stop losses, limits, etc. feel free to ask me or post here. believe me, I've done them all !!

One time I BOUGHT 1000 MORE shares of FAS rather than selling the 1000 shares I had. I had a mini heart attack. Margin was used of course.

Same with setting a stop loss when I was profiting, only to mis-click and ended up exiting my profitable position by mistake !

[NakorOranges]

I am a little confused over after hours trading. I know supposedly anyone can do it at this point, and questrade shows the hours that you can. But I am unsure how to see current values. I know this morning about 30 minutes before markets opened I was able to see a pre market value on google finance. If you wanna explain if/how to see this data and if trading is any different during these times it would be appreciated.

[rfdrfd]

I am a little confused over after hours trading. I know supposedly anyone can do it at this point, and questrade shows the hours that you can. But I am unsure how to see current values. I know this morning about 30 minutes before markets opened I was able to see a pre market value on google finance. If you wanna explain if/how to see this data and if trading is any different during these times it would be appreciated.

I personally have not taken the course on Futures. So can't really tell you how to buy/sell it. But I do know technical analysis works amazingly well in the Futures. Probably cause a lot of TA traders are trading the futures.

Here's a free LIVE, futures chart for S&P (called @ES). Click on the heading: MAJORS and change to other ones for Dow Jones, US Dollar, etc.
http://www.forexpros.com/indices/us-spx-500-futures-advanced-chart

[NakorOranges]

yeesh! got reamed today. I got out of everything around noon, and Im happy I did, nothing went up from there! Worst 3 days to start trading...

*lurks in a corner to patiently wait for cheap stocks in event of recovery*

But what I really wanted to ask rfdrfd was how the snap works for the TSX. If i refresh does it show me non-15 min delayed data?

[SkimGuy]

I haven't been burned by the market yet. My overall portfolio is down, but none of it was due to making a mistake on my part such as buying when I should have sold or something related to that :P

[Xiaohaibao]

Anyone else notice the decimal doesn't work sometime on Questrade IQ? I meant to enter an order for 23.5 and entered 235 and I noticed it just in time. I thought I didn't press the decimal so I tried it again making sure I press it and again it entered as 235! I tried it many more times and about half the time it works.

[TheRed]

If you have any questions about questrade and how to place orders, stop losses, limits, etc. feel free to ask me or post here. believe me, I've done them all !!

One time I BOUGHT 1000 MORE shares of FAS rather than selling the 1000 shares I had. I had a mini heart attack. Margin was used of course.

Same with setting a stop loss when I was profiting, only to mis-click and ended up exiting my profitable position by mistake !

I had a sell stop limit order set but the stock was plunged soo fast that it went lower than my sell limit price... damn...in case you're wondering its apple today. Set a sell stop limit price at 596 lmt and 598 stp but wtf its not working by the time I checked the price was 570 already and i lost 400 in a matter of couple of mins :(

Is this my broker's fault that they couldn't execute my order fast enough?

On a hindsight, I know I should've just done sell stop order and let it sell by whatever the market price is... first time trying sell stop limit

[Cerenity]

stops get overrun by gap downs. there is no buyers in the gap so nothing to execute your stop loss at. it'll get sold at the first available price where there is a buyer, so if a stock is 600 and your stop is 590, but it gaps from 600 down to 550 your sale will be at 550

[Fox2k]

If you wanna explain if/how to see this data and if trading is any different during these times it would be appreciated.

If you're going to trade after hours, just be aware that volume is extremely low for most markets. This means that bid/ask spreads are extremely high, which will cause terrible fills on market orders. If you *must* trade after hours, I would suggest using conservative limit orders at all times. And if you don't get filled, don't worry about it. Better to miss your fill than to get executed very poorly.

[NakorOranges]

I didnt plan to trade after hours so much as not be horrified when I check after market open and see the value has gone down 10%.

[Sylvestre]

...
Even with so little money on the line I can feel my heart beat and am compulsivly checking them, breaking my own rules etc. Got to learn to keep it under control.
...

And that's the hardest and most important lesson that you can never learn with fake money. It also really teaches you your true risk tolerance

[Sylvestre]

Not anyone's fault. This is typical of a fast dropping stock. It's why you have to have a good feel on what the right range is. You set your sell ~0.3% below your trigger.
Personally, I set mine ~3-5% depending on the gain I've locked in, and what the previous supports were.

[rfdrfd]

I had a sell stop limit order set but the stock was plunged soo fast that it went lower than my sell limit price... damn...in case you're wondering its apple today. Set a sell stop limit price at 596 lmt and 598 stp but wtf its not working by the time I checked the price was 570 already and i lost 400 in a matter of couple of mins :(

Is this my broker's fault that they couldn't execute my order fast enough?

Correct. Know your definitions of the stops:

On a hindsight, I know I should've just done sell stop order and let it sell by whatever the market price is... first time trying sell stop limit


Stop: a market order is triggered if price hits or passes your set stop price <--- you will sell 100% guaranteed
Stop limit: a limit order is triggered if price hits or passes your set number, and it will ONLY sell AT your set price

Also, if you want a piece of advice, OTA teaches us NEVER trade earnings. AAPL, case in point. Did ANY analyst out there say "Apple is going to miss?" ZERO. No one can predict it, so you just did a setup that was:

Low probability
High risk
Low reward

100% opposite to what you wanna do to be profitable.

[rfdrfd]

I haven't been burned by the market yet. My overall portfolio is down, but none of it was due to making a mistake on my part such as buying when I should have sold or something related to that :P

Please please, have a stop loss set. Stop loss prevents a bad day turning into a disastrous day

[SkimGuy]

Please please, have a stop loss set. Stop loss prevents a bad day turning into a disastrous day

But I'm investing for the long run (Buy and hold). Don't think a bad day in the markets will affect me in the long run.

[NakorOranges]

Dipped my little toe in this morning then very quickly pulled it out. My whole watchlist is red again.

[Cerenity]

But I'm investing for the long run (Buy and hold). Don't think a bad day in the markets will affect me in the long run.

ditto, but his comment is directed at traders, not investors
i never set stops myself, but I also only sell a few things per year tops.


Dipped my little toe in this morning then very quickly pulled it out. My whole watchlist is red again.

diversify your watch list maybe? :p

half my holdings board is green
2/3 of my clients holding board is green
some by a lot (1-2%)

[Sylvestre]

ditto, but his comment is directed at traders, not investors
i never set stops myself, but I also only sell a few things per year tops.
...

FWIW, I'm a long term "investor" and I still have stops. I'll usually update them monthly but irrespective, they are good to have because they take away the emotions WHEN a crash happens. Buy and hold forever is a good strategy, but I know when a real downturn happens, selling isn't the wrong move.

[Cerenity]

FWIW, I'm a long term "investor" and I still have stops. I'll usually update them monthly but irrespective, they are good to have because they take away the emotions WHEN a crash happens. Buy and hold forever is a good strategy, but I know when a real downturn happens, selling isn't the wrong move.

i dont buy and hold forever. i buy and do continuous homework. a few hours per quarter per stock usually.

i would not sell stocks i own just because of a market crash, but i also would not hold a stock forever without regular research. neither concept fit my investment strategy and some would say they're equally foolish.