Read this article, including the Schonfeld letter link. What do YOU think? http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-here’s-proof-day-trading-dead Also read the comments at the bottom of the above website.
Volatility in currencies is as good as maybe never before. So day trading forex is also more than alive.
I agree 99% with the ZH article. There is no stock "market" out there anymore. They've left "price discovery" on individual stocks out to dry with the hft's while the futures arbs settle the rest on 0 tape. The 5 daytrading "techniques" outlined in the article were marked for death years ago anyways, the easy stuff never stays around long. Whatever odds were stacked against the newbie trader in say 2007, it's probably 50 times worse now. Zero sum. That being said, no matter how frustrating and bs-like this market has devolved into -- I love it, it's right up my alley. Then again, I don't know anyone else who trades the way I do. But the pool keeps on shrinking. All we can do is pray that POMO keeps going full tilt and pushes the dow to like 20K. Maybe some new-fangled technology (biotech?) to get the nasdaq flying on 100+ pe's again. Then and then only will public greed finally win over fear and we get some real liquidity back in the markets; the more players in the casino, the more dealers, pit bosses get hired, etc. I have confidence that the stock market of old will return -- it might just take a whole generation before the public forgets what they saw when the market's skirts were lifted in the debacle of the past few years.
Energy or currency futures + 5-min time frame + 1-min cross-reference + pure price action (which by its very nature cannot die in a global auction) = Not only alive, but kickin' butt!
If the daily bar has enough width then daytrading is doable. Price has to get across that range some way, usually it's quite indirect even, so there are a few moves that pay off during the day. NQ has about 20pts average daily range, at $20/pt that's $400 if you just make 1x range... More than one trading method that capitalizes on that situation has been outlined on ET. Don't compete with the computers, you are nowhere as fast or accurate..
the one thing sure to kill day trading is if a FTT (financial transaction tax) is passed in the US. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150546
The Day Traders of the future will be 100% Automated, Trading Algorithms. This has been happening for at least 7 years, if not more. The prop firms just have not adopted any sort of non-discretionary trading mentality.
I daytrade nothing but stocks every day and do just fine with it, Anyone who says you cant daytrade stocks anymore just doesn't have a clue as to what they are doing.
Daytrading has been dying since I joined this site. Those that can't do it, love to bring others down w/ them or justify why they couldn't cut it. At some point people realize trading from home is not a get rich scheme working from your pajamas. It's serious work and not easy. Same with full service brokers - when I entered that business, people said that cheap, online brokers will kill full service. 4+ years later and a large book of clients disagreed with that.