is it illegal to buy and sell stocks at a very fast pace?
Posted on Dec 14, 2011 with Comments 8
Bman83 asked:
what im getting at is, can i buy $1000 worth of something today and then sell tomorrow if it goes up just to bank the 2 or 3 hundred bucks? i heard that this is not allowed? basically im looking for a fast way to catch a few extra bucks so i can put that all into something long term. but i have been watching some stocks that would have banked me some nice bonus cash but im afraid i cant buy and seel “legally” i know the pros dont recamend it.
Ivy Olup
what im getting at is, can i buy $1000 worth of something today and then sell tomorrow if it goes up just to bank the 2 or 3 hundred bucks? i heard that this is not allowed? basically im looking for a fast way to catch a few extra bucks so i can put that all into something long term. but i have been watching some stocks that would have banked me some nice bonus cash but im afraid i cant buy and seel “legally” i know the pros dont recamend it.
Ivy Olup
Filed Under: Investing
It can be. But with your amounts and timing, I don’t think so. Trading commissions will quickly eat your profits at $10 to $30 per transaction.
Those low-commission brokerages (like Scott Trade) have minimum number of trades to get the lowest commission rates.
no thats not illegal..i do this thing with gold..& i have made some good money from theraise this year…& i do this on legal terms & contracts…go for it..
That is not illegal. You can buy and sell as fast as you want to do it. Even with only minutes between the buy and sell transaction.
If you are buying one day and selling the next, no problem. If you buy and sell the same day, you need to become familiar with pattern day trader requirements.
That said, what you are proposing is extremely unlikely. With the numbers you used, you are looking for a 20% to 30% gain within one day. In my opinion, with only $1000, you should focus longer term to start with.
The reason why they call it is called the Freemarket is because you are free to do as you feel, without to much interference.
On the various stock markets you will find some people buying for minute amounts in some instances. Just do your sums and calculate your brokerage fees etc.
In my country I use a few bucks less than you do per trade, we also have some instruments called SSF (Single Stock Futures) these allow me to buy a geared (borrowed money) instrument where I can make (or lose) money using relative small amounts.
I don’t know if you have similar instruments in your market though, call a broker and ask advice. Remember that although you can make more money in one go using these type of instruments, you also can lose that much more of your hard earned cash.
Good luck and enjoy.
It’s called “daytrading or intra-daytrading”,
It is only illegal if you hype the stock, to inflate the price and them dump it.
Buying low and taking profit is normal.
I day traded back in the mid to late 90s with the Dot-bomb stocks. looking back at a couple of my daytrades I wish i’d held a couple for the long haul. YHOO at it’s IPO, EBAY at it IPO.
Walt is right, it takes more then $1000 to come out alive day trading. Find a decent set up of stocks, that IBD show an up trend for the past 52 weeks, at around the $5-10 level. Buy and hold.
It is not illegal to buy & sell at either a fast pace or a slow pace
Every purchase that is made must be paid in full, prior to the sale, if not your account is restricted for 90 days or until payment is made in full. You can not use sale proceeds to pay for the purchase.
However, if you have sufficient equity and maintain such equity (25,000) you can day trade.
If you don’t understand the rules of buying & selling you shouldn’t do it, Only a fool would do something they don’t understand.
Yes go to the market buy a cock, rip it’s head off and bother with that
Just want to correct the first responders answer about Scottrade. Trades there are $7.. one trade a years or 10 trades a day. Many other brokers are the same. Some have lower rates for volume, but if you are using a broker because they are the cheapest, you shouldn’t be using one at all.
The reason some are more expensive is the tools they provide cost them, Level 2 quotes, SP reports etc.
Also with $1000 you will find trading on paper is a lost easier than trading for real..
You have info about pattern day trader… do a search for “pattern day trader” and read the rules.