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Tag: trading strategies

  • The 200 Day Moving Average And Everything You Need To Know About It

    The 200-day moving average, a simple line that is displayed across a chart, is considered an important tool for traders and investors to determine the trend of the market. The indicator shows as a line on a chart that rises and falls in sync with the stock, commodity, or other instrument being charted as longer-term price movements.

    Before you start investing or trading, always consider going with one of the best brokerage firms in the country like Zebu. As a top broker in share market we have created one of the best stock trading platforms, for you to use and invest.

    When the price is above the moving average, the 200-day SMA appears to act as an incredible support level, and when the price is below it, it appears to serve as a resistance level.

    The 200-Day SMA

    The 200-day SMA is often used in stock trading to detect the broad market trend. It covers around 40 weeks of trade. A company is generally regarded to be in an overall uptrend if its price continues above the 200-day SMA on a daily time period. A 255-day moving average, which covers the preceding year’s trade, is a popular alternative to the 200-day SMA.

    The 200-day SMA is a very long-term moving average that is frequently used in conjunction with other, shorter-term moving averages to display not only the market trend but also the strength of the trend as measured by the distance between moving average lines. Comparing the 50-day and 200-day SMAs, for example, is rather frequent.

    When moving average lines converge, it can imply a lack of clear market momentum, but increasing the distance between shorter-term and longer-term moving averages usually implies increased trend strength and market momentum.

    Death Crosses and Golden Crosses

    The 200-day simple moving average is regarded as such an essential trend indicator that a “death cross” occurs when the 50-day SMA crosses below the 200-day SMA, indicating a downtrend for the stock.

    In a similar vein, the crossing of the 50-day SMA to the upside of the 200-day SMA is known as a “golden cross,” and the stock is regarded as “golden,” or almost certain to gain in price, once this occurs.

    SMAs vs. EMAs Simple Moving Averages vs. Exponential Moving Averages
    It’s likely that the 200-day SMA has a self-fulfilling prophecy quality to it; markets respond strongly in response to it partly because so many traders and analysts value it so highly.

    However, some traders prefer to use the exponential moving average (EMA). An EMA provides a higher weight to the most recent trading days than a simple moving average, which is calculated as the average price over the selected time range. For example, the exponential moving average provides current prices a higher weighting than the basic moving average, which gives all values equal weighting. Technical analysts use EMAs and SMAs in comparable ways to recognise trends and identify overbought or oversold markets, despite the differences in methodology.

    How is the SMA calculated?

    The average closing prices of a security over a period of time are used to calculate a simple moving average (SMA). It’s used to smooth out price swings and provide traders a better understanding of trends and reversals.

    How do I find a stock’s 200-day moving average?

    With Zebull Smart Trader from Zebu, you simply have to change the time frame to 1 day and add the moving average indicator. In the settings, you can change the period to 200. This will overlay the 200 day moving average over your chart.

    As one of the top brokers in share market, we have created the best stock trading platform for you to invest in wisely. Our tool is designed to help investors and traders alike to analyse a company with a wide range of indicators and screeners as per your strategy. As one of the best brokerage firms in the country, we invite you to open a trading and investment account with us.

  • Why You Should Trade In Commodities During A Global Crisis

    Commodity trading has a long history in India. The Bombay Cotton Trade was established in 1875, marking the first significant milestone. Then, in 1991, came the liberation policy, which boosted commodities trading. Futures were reintroduced in 1994 after being discontinued owing to war and food shortages. Agricultural goods were included as a result of the reintroduction.

    Before we get into the benefits of trading in commodities we would like you to know that at Zebu, one of the fastest-growing brokerage firms in the country, we have created the best Indian trading platform with the lowest brokerage for intraday trading.

    Commodities are traded on six markets in India.

    They are as follows:
    MCX stands for Multi Commodity Exchange.
    NCDEX stands for National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.
    NMCE stands for National Multi Commodity Exchange.
    ICEX stands for Indian Commodity Exchange.
    ACE stands for Ace Derivatives Exchange.
    UCX stands for Universal Commodity Exchange.
    When it comes to market share, MCX has a 70 percent stake, NCDEX has a 25 percent share, and NMCE has a 5 percent share.

    Here are a few benefits of commodity trading in India:

    1. A Reliable Option in a Crisis
    There aren’t many people interested in trading commodities. A trader, on the other hand, may consider investing in metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals. In times of inflation and economic uncertainty, these provide security.

    2. Diversification of your portfolio
    If you’re an investor who already invests in equities and bonds, you might want to examine commodities as well. You can diversify your portfolio and develop a risk-adjusted strategy this way.

    3. Transparent
    Commodity trade has become more transparent in India because to online commodity trading. Price discovery is fair, and it is regulated by large-scale involvement. When there is such a large degree of engagement, it also aids in gauging the perception and outlook of commodity traders.

    4. Possibility of High Returns
    When it comes to commodities trading, there’s always the possibility that a trader will strike it rich. However, this is only achievable if a sound trading plan is in place.

    5. Hedging
    Hedging is the practice of managing price risks in the futures market by taking an equal and opposite position. Certain factors in commodity trading, such as natural disasters, economic crises, or war, might cause commodity prices to rise. These commodities can be used as a risk hedge.

    6. Anti-inflationary protection
    Commodity prices typically rise during periods of inflation. Investing in the right commodities will not only help you beat inflation but also help you make excellent profits.

    7. Trading with a Smaller Margin
    Commodity trading allows you to trade with a reduced margin of 5% -10%. You can take bigger positions with less capital if you have a lower margin.

    8. There will be no cut-offs
    Time decay is a constraint while trading Options. As the expiration date approaches, there is less time to cash in on the option financially. Time decay is not an issue in commodities futures because there is no expectation of a strike price at expiration.

    As we mentioned before, trading strangles requires thebest Indian trading platform and the lowest brokerage for intraday trading. As one of the best brokerage firms in the country, we have created a powerful trading platform that makes analysis easy for you. To know more about its features, please get in touch with us now.

  • The Detailed Guide To Trading With VWAP

    Large Cap vs Mid Cap vs Small Cap: Key Differences That Actually Matter

    The volume-weighted average price (VWAP) is a trading benchmark that shows the average price a security has traded at over the course of a day, depending on both volume and price. VWAP gives you the average pricing of a stock by accounting for one of the most important parameters – volume. How to Work Out the Average Volume-Weighted Price Instead of manually calculating the VWAP, you can simply add it as an indicator to your chart. When it comes to using the right indicators for your trading strategy, you need an online trading platform from one of the fastest-growing stock broker companies in India. Our goal is to give you the best online stock trading experience with every possible indicator that you might need to create your strategy. Getting back to calculating the VWAP – you can follow these steps to compute the VWAP on your own. Assume a 5-minute chart; regardless of the intraday time frame, the formula is the same. Find the stock’s average price for the first five minutes of the trading day. Now, multiply the high, low, and close of a candlestick by three. Multiply by the volume of that time period. In a spreadsheet, enter the result in the price column. Divide this value from the volume for that time period. This will give you the VWAP. Continue to add the price value from each period to the previous values to maintain the VWAP value throughout the day. Subtract this amount from the total volume up to that point. Create columns for cumulative price value and cumulative volume in a spreadsheet to make this easier. What Does VWAP Have to Say to You? The VWAP ratio is used by large institutional purchasers and mutual funds to help them move into and out of companies with as little market impact as feasible. As a result, institutions will try to buy below the VWAP or sell above it whenever possible. As a result of their efforts, the price is pushed back toward the average rather than away from it. VWAP can also be thought of as a trend confirmation tool and you can build a trading strategy around it. They may prefer to open long bets when the price is above VWAP, for example. They may opt to start short positions when the price is below VWAP. Difference Between MA and a VWAP? VWAP and a moving average may appear similar on a chart. The calculations for these two indicators are different. VWAP is calculated by dividing the entire volume by the sum of price multiplied by volume. A simple moving average is calculated by adding closing prices over a set number of periods (say 10) and dividing by the number of periods (10). There is no consideration for volume. The Volume-Weighted Average Price’s Limitations VWAP is a one-day indicator that is reset at the start of each trading day. When attempting to calculate an average VWAP over several days, the average may become distorted from the genuine VWAP reading, as explained above. When institutional buyers decide to buy or sell a stock, the VWAP is an important consideration for them. In strong uptrends, the price may continue to rise for several days without ever or only sometimes falling below the VWAP. Waiting for the price to fall below VWAP may therefore be a missed chance if prices are rapidly rising. VWAP is based on historical data and does not have any inherent prediction or calculation capabilities. Because VWAP is tied to the day’s opening price range, the indicator’s lag grows as the day progresses. This may be observed in how, after 330 minutes (the length of a normal trading session), a 1-minute period VWAP calculation can typically resemble a 390-minute moving average at the end of the trading day. Why Does The VWAP Matter? Traders who want to get a smoothed-out indication of a security’s price over time utilise the VWAP. Larger traders that need to make sure their trades don’t alter the price of the security they’re seeking to purchase or sell use it as well. To prevent artificially inflating the price of an asset, a hedge fund might refrain from placing a buy order for a price higher than the security’s VWAP. Similarly, it should avoid placing orders that are too low in comparison to the VWAP, so that the price is not driven down by the sale. When used right, VWAP can take your best online stock trading experience and enhance it. With the right online trading platform like Zebull Smart Trader that comes with VWAP and so many other in-built indicators, you can ensure that your strategy is designed to make the most profits. As one of the fastest-growing stock broker companies in the country, we are dedicated to providing you with the best tools for the best trades. Please get in touch with us to know more about our products and services.

  • Leading And Lagging Indicators For Beginners

    For those who trade using technical analysis, technical indicators are the core of their trading.

    Whether you day trade or swing trade, these indicators are extremely important. Technical analysis’ principal purpose is to forecast future price movement. Understanding the art of trading patterns and indicators will help you in understanding them better.

    Technical indicators are separated into two types: leading and lagging indicators.

    In this post, we’ll look at both types of indicators to see which one best suits your trading style. But before we begin, let’s talk about access to indicators. When you start trading, it is important to have one of the best trading accounts from the best share broker in terms of the number of indicators you can use. Zebull Smart Trader is a high-end online trading platform that gives you the widest range of leading as well as lagging indicators for you to choose from. With us, you can execute any complex strategy with any number of indicators.

    What is a Leading Technical Indicator, and how does it work?

    Leading indicators are used to anticipate future price changes and provide a trading advantage to the trader.

    Leading indicators provide an early signal of entry or exit and show price momentum over a period of time that is utilised to calculate the indicator.

    The following are some well-known leading indicators:

    Stochastic Oscillator
    RSI
    Volume
    William % R
    Volume profile

    Because volume gives us the buying and selling pressures in the market, it tends to indicate changes even before the price moves. For example, when a market top is formed, you can clearly see an exhaustion of buyers. If that is followed by an increasing number of sellers, then you can assume that the trend has reversed.

    What is a Lagging Technical Indicator, and how does it work?

    Lagging indicators are price reversal indicators that follow a trend and predict price reversals.

    These are especially useful if you follow a trend following strategy.

    They don’t predict future price changes; instead, they just notify us whether prices are rising or falling so that we can invest accordingly.

    Despite the delayed feedback, many traders prefer lagging indicators since they let them trade with greater confidence by confirming their results.

    Before buying a stock, traders usually employ two or more lagging indicators to confirm price movements.

    Examples of lagging indicators:

    Moving Averages
    Moving averages convergence and divergence

    Let’s look at an example:

    A 50 period 200 period moving average is a typical example of a lagging indicator setup.

    When the 50 MA crosses below the 200 SMA, a security is said to be bearish. When the 50 MA crosses above the 200 SMA, a security is considered to be bullish.

    If you consider the first signal from the moving average crossover and execute your trades, they might end up in a loss.

    The key reason for this is that by the time the price moves lower and the SMAs respond, the price would have already dropped significantly and reversed.

    Similarly, when we receive a bullish crossover indication, it is better to wait for a pullback before entering a trade.

    What is the difference between the two types of indicators?

    Signal Generation
    Leading indicators provide trading signals when a trend is about to begin, whilst lagging indicators track price movements.

    Time Periods to Avoid
    Leading indicators attempt to predict price using a shorter timeframe and, as a result, trail price fluctuations.

    Lagging Indicators provide signals after a trend or reversal has occurred. They can be used to determine the direction of the trend.

    Drawbacks of leading and lagging indicators

    Leading indicators are prone to false signals because they react quickly to price changes.

    Lagging indicators take a long time to react and might also send out false signals.

    Using Leading and Lagging Technical Indicators in Combination
    Traders can use a combination of a leading and lagging indicator to create a better trading system. For example, you can use RSI and Moving average crossover. In this strategy, you can wait for a buy/sell signal from RSI (a leading indicator) and wait for a confirmation from the moving average crossover to initiate a trade. Combining leading and lagging indicators can be a simple but powerful way to trade.

    Creating a trading strategy is an art. You need the best trading accounts from the best share broker to give you access to all types of leading and lagging indicators. This is exactly what we offer at Zebu. We have created a highly advanced online trading platform that helps you take the best possible trades with a host of indicators. To know more about Zebull Smart Trader, please get in touch with us now.

  • Strangles And Straddles For Beginners

    Both strangles and straddles are options techniques that allow an investor to profit from big price changes in a company, whether the stock moves up or down. Both strategies involve purchasing an equal number of call and put options that expire on the same day.

    Option prices are intrinsically related to the price of something else, making them a sort of derivative security. You have the right, but not the responsibility, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price on or before a specific date if you purchase an options contract.

    A call option allows the holder to purchase stock, whereas a put option allows the holder to sell shares. An option contract’s strike price is the price at which an underlying stock can be purchased or sold. Before a position can be closed for a profit, the stock must rise above this price for calls and fall below this price for puts.

    Before we give you an explainer of the strangle and straddle, it is important to know that you need to analyse them for maximum profits. At Zebu, one of the fastest-growing brokerage firms in the country, we have created the best Indian trading platform with the lowest brokerage for intraday trading. If you would like to simplify your option trading game, we are here to help you out.

    Options Straddle

    A straddle trade is one technique for a trader to profit on an underlying asset’s price change. Let’s imagine a company’s latest earnings are due in three weeks, and you have no idea whether the news will be positive or negative. Because the stock is expected to go dramatically higher or down when the results are published, the weeks leading up to the news release are an excellent opportunity to enter into a straddle.

    Let’s pretend that the stock is trading at Rs 1000 in April. Assume the price of a Rs 1000 call option for June is Rs 20 and the price of a Rs 1000 put option for June is Rs 10. A straddle is created by buying both the call and the put options. If the lot size is 200, your total investment would be (20+10)*100 = Rs 3000.

    The straddle will gain value if the stock rises (because of the long call option) or falls (due to the short call option) (because of the long put option). Profits will be achieved as long as the stock price swings in either direction by more than Rs 30 per share.

    Profits will be achieved as long as the stock price swings in either direction by more than Rs 30 per share. Since ATM options are bought, this strategy is called a long straddle. Traders with large capitals often choose short straddles to make additional income.

    In short straddle, instead of buying the ATM call and put options, traders sell them. It is a directionally neutral strategy.

    Options Strangle

    The improvisation of the strangle over the straddle mostly helps in lowering the strategy cost. But, the number of points required to break even rises.

    The strangle requires the purchase of OTM call and put options. Remember that the OTM strike is usually cheaper than the ATM strike, therefore setting up a strangle is less expensive than setting up a straddle.

    For example, if the Nifty is currently trading at 7921, we’ll need to buy OTM Call and Put options to put up a strangle. Keep in mind that both options must have the same expiration date and underlying.

    Assume you purchase OTM options with a 200-point spread. As a result, you would purchase the 7700 Put option and the 8100 Call option. These options are currently trading at a price of Rs 20 and 30, respectively. The total premium for executing the strangle is 50. Nifty must expire above 8100 or below 7700 to be profitable in this method.

    When you sell OTM options, then it is called a short strangle. It is a neutral strategy that is profitable if the underlying expires between the two strikes of the OTM options.

    While this is just an overview of the strangle and straddle, two of the most common options trading strategy, we will get into a detailed look at the strategies with respect to moneyness as well as option greeks in a later post.

    As we mentioned before, trading strangles and straddles requires the best Indian trading platform and the lowest brokerage for intraday trading. As one of the best brokerage firms in the country, we have created a powerful trading platform that makes option analysis easy for you. To know more about its features, please get in touch with us now.

  • A Quick Guide To Price Action Trading

    Price action is the study of market price movement. Why not examine, analyse, and learn from the price itself?

    The price shown on a chart is based on the combined beliefs, knowledge, and actions of market participants. Buyers are in charge if prices rise. Prices falling suggests sellers are in command. In a sideways market, buyers and sellers cannot agree. Also, price action traders ignore fundamental events, believing the markets already know about them. For them, price movement is the best indicator. Price action is employed by everyone from ordinary investors to floor traders and even institutions. Price action is a fantastic approach to look at markets.

    Many believe that prices move based on public opinion. Because people can have opposing views while trading in the same market. There are two types of traders: those that buy an instrument when the price is approaching a resistance level, and those who wait to see if the price bounces off or breaks through. In any case, both traders appear to be wrong since they lack market knowledge and appear to be following the crowd. The financial markets are fundamentally unpredictable, making future price movements impossible to predict.

    Trading price action strategies requires the best Indian trading platform with a wide range of features. With Zebu, one of the best stock brokers in the country, your online stock trading journey will be drastically enha

    How to trade with price action

    Many price action trading methods use a two-step procedure to discover and exploit market trading opportunities.

    Find out what’s going on now.
    As previously stated, a market can go up, down, or sideways. Looking at the prices of various assets should reveal the market’s movement.

    Find the optimal trading moment.
    After determining the current market conditions, a trader looks for a profitable trading opportunity. If prices are rising, the price action should indicate whether prices will continue to rise or if a correction is imminent. For example, consider a price action trade in Reliance. Assume that INR 2,500 is a resistance. A price-action trader would wait for a break of INR 2,500 to buy Reliance. If it breaks out above INR 2,500, the stop loss would be below the previous support of INR 2,400.

    Most price action traders enjoy candlestick charts because they are informative and visually appealing. A candlestick shows the high, low, opening, and closing prices of an asset through time. A candle that closes higher than its initial price is green (bullish), while one that closes lower is red (bearish).

    By closely examining the prices, a price action trader can learn a lot about how the market operates. The size and information provided by a candle are determined by the pricing points used to create it. As a result, some candle types display bullish hammer, bearish hanging man, and neutral Doji. As time passes, a chart shows more and more candlesticks. When candlestick patterns appear on a chart, they reveal more price data.

    When employed correctly, candlestick patterns can show traders how the market moves like “confirmation, reversal, or neutral.”

    In any case, there are patterns that imply the dominating tendency will continue.

    Head and shoulders and double bottoms are reversal patterns that indicate the current trend is poised to reverse. Neutral patterns, like symmetrical triangles, can occur in any market and, while they indicate a major shift, they provide no direction.

    It’s more important to understand what they say than how they were made. Price action traders can utilise trendlines to find the right entry and exit.

    Price Action Patterns

    In price action tactics, you can find out what individuals are thinking by watching price fluctuations. These are some of the market’s most reliable price action setups.

    A long wick
    A candle has a body and wick(s). This is the distance between the opening and closing prices (the high and the low). Long wick candles are prized by price action traders because they reveal price movement. During that period, buyers tried to drive prices up, but sellers fought back, bringing prices back to where they started the day. A price action trader can now either back the sellers or wait for more proof. No matter how they seem, long wick candles are vital to price action traders.

    Inside bar
    Traders wonder if breakouts are legitimate when they occur. The term “within” refers to when one or more candles trade inside the major breakout candle’s high and low positions. This is called an inside bar. If an inside bar occurs after a breakout, it is a sign of the strength of the breakout according to price action theories.

    Trading Trendlines
    Trendline trading is the use of lines to determine the ideal places to enter trades in up or down markets. In an uptrend, a trendline is projected from a swing low to a swing high. It’s a “trend line.” Retracements to the trend line are effective entry points. In a ranging market, horizontal trendlines might identify support and resistance zones.

    Essentially, price action trading can be used to locate and trade low-risk, high-reward trades.

    If you are a price action trader or want to get started with this concept, you need the best Indian trading platform from the best stock broker to back you up. With our state-of-the-art platform, you can take your online stock trading to the next level. To know more about our products and services, please get in touch with us.

  • Calendar Spreads In Futures Contracts – A Simple Arbitrage Trading System

    As the name implies, a calendar spread is a spread technique in which you profit from the price difference between futures contracts for the same underlying in different expiries. When compared to taking a directional view on the Nifty or individual stocks, this is considered a lower-risk and more predictable strategy. Calendar spread trades are popular among institutions and HNIs looking for low-risk tactics that allow them to earn significant rupee returns based on volume.

    Executing calendar spreads requires a huge amount of analysis and the lowest brokerages you can find in India. As one of the fastest-growing stock broker companies in India, we at Zebu have created the best trading platform for calendar spreads and other futures and options strategies.

    Let’s take a look at what a Calendar Spread is and how it works.

    What Is A Calendar Spread?

    The Calendar spread is the purchase and sale of two futures contracts on the same underlying for different expiries. By buying one contract and selling the other, you can establish a calendar spread between Nifty June and Nifty July, for example. This way, your calendar spread payoffs depend on the spread increasing or contracting. For example, the Calendar spread definition states that you go long on the Calendar spread when you expect the spread to broaden and short on the Calendar spread when you expect the spread to reduce.

    Calendar spread process flow

    Remember that you can execute a Calendar spread in both options and futures. Both are popular in India, but for the sake of simplicity, we will focus on the calendar spread on Nifty futures. Calendar spreads on options will likewise follow the same logic. Calculate the fair value of the current month contract as the first step in the Calendar spread. The fair value of the mid-month or far-month contract can be calculated in the second stage. You can buy the underpriced contract and sell the overpriced contract once you notice the mispricing. Your Calendar spread is now complete.

    You can either buy the current month contract or sell the mid-month contract based on the relative mispricing. You can also sell the current month contract and buy the mid-month contract as an alternative. There is no restriction on this.

    Let’s look at an example
    RIL June Futures are bought at Rs.2,245 and RIL July Futures are sold at Rs.2,250. Your spread is Rs.5 and you expect it to alter in your favour so that you can benefit. Assume that the RIL June futures rise to Rs.2260 and the RIL July futures rise to Rs.2,257 after a few days. When the calendar is closed, you earn Rs.15 on June futures but lose Rs.7 on July futures. In other words, you made an Rs.8 profit on the calendar spread.

    The spread changed from a positive of Rs.5 to a negative of Rs.-3, resulting in a net profit of Rs.8 on the calendar spread. This is how spread earnings are made. In most cases, the risk associated with such calendar spreads is minimal.

    Key factors to keep in mind

    It’s worth noting that when you buy and sell a calendar spread, you’re buying and selling futures of the same stock, but from contracts with different expirations, like in the example of Reliance Industries. What is supposed to be gained here is the difference between the prices of the two contracts. Of course, in our example, you received a bonus because the calendar switched from a positive to a negative spread, resulting in a significantly larger profit. Calendar spreads have a modest trading risk, so the earnings you make on them are also small. As a result, this is better suitable for risk-averse institutions that rely on volume to generate rupee gains.

    Now we’ll look at the final feature of the calendar spread. What criteria do you use to determine if a contract is underpriced or overpriced? You must use the base approach or the cost of carrying approach for this. The predicted stock price is represented by the futures price. To put it another way, the spot price is simply the current value of the anticipated futures price. You may determine which contract is underpriced and which is overpriced using the cost of carrying method. Then, in accordance, you buy the underpriced contract and sell the overvalued, resulting in a calendar spread.

    Just a word of warning. Only by continuing to hold the position as a spread does a calendar spread remain low risk. If you’re generating money on one leg, for example, it’s not a good idea to record profits on that leg while holding a naked position on the other leg. When the logic of the calendar spread is broken, it becomes a speculative trading position with significant risk. As a result, only a combination approach may be used to open and close a Calendar spread.

    Reverse Calendar Spread

    When trading options on calendars, the reverse calendar spread concept is increasingly prevalent. The reverse calendar spread is when you buy a short-term option and sell a long-term option with the same strike price on the same underlying securities. You might buy a June 1500 Infosys call option and sell an August 1500 Infosys call option, for example.

    The majority of spreads are built as a ratio spread, which means that the investments are made in uneven quantities or ratios. When markets make a large move in either direction, a reverse calendar spread is usually the most rewarding. Because of its complex structure and larger margin requirements, it is more widely used among institutions than among individuals.

    When it comes to executing calendar spreads, you need access to the best trading platform from one of the most reliable stock broker companies in the country. We also complement our platform with the lowest brokerage for trading. Please get in touch with us to know more about our services and products.

  • Common Options Trading Mistakes And How To Avoid Them – Part 3

    In our journey to list the common options trading mistakes that beginner traders make, we are at the very end. In this article, we will cover the final 4 common mistakes that options traders make and how you can avoid them by trading smarter.

    Before we begin though, you need to understand that options can help you grow a small account into a much larger one. However, you can enjoy all of that with the lowest brokerage you can find for options trading. Zebu gives you this and more. As one of the best brokerage firms in the country, you also get the best trading accounts from us. Please get in touch with us to know more.

    7. Failure to Factor Upcoming Events

    When you trade options, there are two things you need to keep an eye on: the earnings and dividend dates for the stock you’re betting on.

    If a dividend is coming up and you have sold calls, there is a higher chance that your premium will rise due to positive market sentiments. As the holder of an option, you are also not entitled to the dividends of the company. Therefore, you have to cover your call option and buy the underlying stock.

    The smarter way to trade

    Be sure to factor in upcoming events. Also, unless you’re ready to take a larger risk of assignment, avoid selling options contracts with upcoming dividends.

    Trading during earnings season usually means you’ll see more volatility in the underlying stock and pay more for the option. If you want to buy an option during earnings season, you can create a spread by buying one option and selling another.

    Understanding implied volatility can also help you make better decisions about the current price of an option contract and its anticipated future fluctuations. Implied volatility is calculated from the price of an option and reveals what the market thinks about the stock’s future volatility. While implied volatility cannot predict which way a stock will move, it can help you determine whether it will move significantly or only slightly. It’s important to remember that the bigger the option premium, the greater the implied volatility.

    8. Legging Into Spreads
    Most rookie options traders attempt to “leg into” a spread by purchasing one option first and then selling the other. They’re attempting to reduce the price by a few pennies. It simply isn’t worth taking the chance.

    This scenario has also burnt many seasoned options traders, who have learnt their lessons the hard way.

    The smarter way to trade

    If you want to trade a spread, don’t “leg in.” Spreads can be traded as a single deal. Don’t take on unnecessary market risk.

    You might, for example, buy a call and then try to time the selling of another call to get a slightly higher price on the second leg. If market circumstances deteriorate, you won’t be able to cover your spread, so this is a losing strategy. You can be stuck on a long call with no plan to follow.

    If you want to try out this trading method, don’t buy a spread and wait for the market to move in your favour. You may believe that you will be able to resell it at a greater price later, but this is an unrealistic expectation.

    Always treat a spread as a single trade rather than try to deal with the details of timing. You have to get into the trade before the market starts going down.

    9 Ignoring Index Options for Neutral Trades

    Individual stocks can be quite volatile. For example, if there is a major unforeseen news event in a company, it could rock the stock for a few days. On the other hand, even serious turmoil in a major company that’s part of the Nifty50 probably wouldn’t cause that index to fluctuate very much.

    What’s the moral of the story?

    Index-based options trading can protect you from the massive swings that single news items might cause in individual stocks. Consider neutral trades on big indexes, and you can minimise the uncertain impact of market news.

    The smarter way to trade

    A short spread (also called a credit spread) on an index could be a good way to make money when the market doesn’t move. In comparison to other stocks, index moves are less dramatic and less prone to be influenced by the media.

    Short spreads are typically designed to profit even if the underlying price remains unchanged. Short call spreads are considered “neutral to bearish,” whereas short put spreads are considered “neutral to bullish.”

    Remember, spreads involve more than one option trade, and therefore incur more than one count of brokerage.

    As we have mentioned before, avoiding these mistakes while starting on your options trading journey can go a long way in protecting your capital. While you take care of your options trading strategy, we take care of the rest. As one of the fastest-growing brokerage firms in the country, we provide our clients with the best trading accounts as well as the lowest brokerages for options trading. To know more about our services and products, please get in touch with us now.

  • Common Options Trading Mistakes And How To Avoid Them – Part 1

    When you trade options, you can make money even if stocks go up, down, or stay the same. With options trading, you can cut losses and protect gains for only a small amount of money.

    Great, right? Here’s the deal: When you trade options, you can lose more money than you invest in a short amount of time. This isn’t the same as when you buy a stock. You can only lose what you paid for the stock in that case. With options, depending on the type of trade, it’s possible to lose all of your money.

    That’s why it’s so important to be careful. Even if you’re an expert trader, you can still make a mistake and lose money.

    When it comes to online stock trading and growing your trading account, another important aspect for you to consider is the share market brokers you trust. At Zebu, we offer the best trading platform that is packed with features that will help you make better trading decisions.

    To help you avoid making costly mistakes, we’re going over the top 10 mistakes that new option traders make.

    1. Buying OTM call options

    Buying out-of-the-money (OTM) call options is the biggest mistake you can make when trading options.
    OTM call options seem like a good place to start for new options traders because they are cheap. This may feel safe to you because it’s the same thing you do as an equity trader: buy low and try to sell high. There are many ways to make money in options trading, but they are one of the most difficult. In this case, you might lose more money than you make if you only use this method.

    The smarter way to trade

    Think about selling an OTM call option on a stock that you already own as your first move. In the business world, this strategy is called a “covered call.”

    The risk doesn’t come when you sell an option when you have a stock position that covers the option. In addition, if you’re willing to sell your stock if the price goes up, it could make you money. This strategy can help you get a sense of how OTM options contract prices change as the expiration date nears and the stock price changes.

    It’s also possible to lose a lot of money by owning the stock, but that risk can be big. Even though selling the call option doesn’t put your money at risk, it does limit your chances of making money, which is called “opportunity risk.” You could have to sell the stock if the market rises and your call is taken.

    2. Not Knowing How Leverage Works

    Most people who start trading don’t think about how much risk they’re taking when they use the leverage factor in option contracts. They like to buy short-term calls. As a result of this happening so often, it’s worth asking: Is buying calls outright a risky or safe strategy?

    3. The smarter way to trade

    A general rule for new option traders: If you usually trade 100 share lots, stick with one option at first and start with that. If you usually trade 300 shares at a time, then maybe three contracts would be a good change of pace. This is a good amount to start out with. If you don’t do well with these sizes, you’ll probably not do well with bigger size trades, too. This is a general rule.

    4. Not having an exit plan

    You may have heard it before: When you trade options, like stocks, it’s important to keep your emotions in check. The point isn’t to be able to overcome all of your fears in a superhuman way.

    Having an exit plan even when things are going your way is part of this. Take the time to figure out where you want to leave and when you want to leave.

    If you start to worry about leaving some money on the table by getting out too early, don’t worry. Remember this counterargument: What if you made more money consistently, cut down on your losses, and slept better at night?

    5. The smarter way to trade

    Make sure you know how you’ll leave a trade. Whether you are buying or selling options, having an exit plan can help you set up better trading habits and keep your fears in check.

    Determine how you want to get out of the situation on the upside and how much you can handle on the other side. In the event that you reach your upside goals, you should clear your position and take your money. Don’t be too greedy. If you hit your stop-loss on the downside, you should clear your position again and start a new one. Don’t stay in a losing trade hoping that the prices may rise again.

    A lot of times, it’ll be hard not to go against this way of thinking. Don’t. Too many traders make a plan and then, as soon as they make a trade, ditch their plan and follow their feelings instead.

    Online stock trading requires you to stick to your plan and use the right market brokers to grow your trading account. At Zebu, we offer the best trading platform that is packed with features that will help you make better trading decisions. If you would like to know more, please get in touch with us now.

  • 10 Things To Keep In Mind If You Want To Become A Successful Trader

    When you are new to trading and are Googling what it takes to be a successful trader, you’ll quickly become familiar with terms like “plan your trade; trade your plan” and “minimise your losses.”

    And the amount of information available can soon overwhelm you. So, here is a simple, 10-step Gyan about what you should do in the first year of trading.

    Each of the guidelines below is vital, but their combined impact is powerful. Remembering these can considerably boost your chances of market success. But before we get into the article, make sure to always choose an online trading platform that offers either lowest brokerage or zero brokerage intraday trading.

    Never trade without a plan.

    A trading plan details a trader’s entrance, exit, and money management criteria for each buy. With today’s technology, it is easy to test a trading strategy before risking actual money. Backtesting allows you to test your trade concept using past data to see if it works. Once a plan is devised and backtested well, it can be employed in real trading. Your job is to simply keep to the strategy. Trading outside the trading plan, even if profitable, is considered a bad strategy.

    Trading As A Business

    Trading should be treated as a full-time or part-time business, not a pastime or profession. As a hobby, there is no genuine commitment to learning. A job without a regular income might be frustrating. Trading is a business with costs, losses, taxes, stress, and risk. As a trader, you are a tiny business owner who must research and plan to optimise your profits.

    Embrace Technology

    Trading is a cutthroat sport. It’s safe to presume that the most successful traders use all available technology. Traders can use charting software to view and analyse markets in limitless ways. Using a good and trusted online trading platform with the lowest brokerage or zero brokerage for intraday trading is another important strategy. Backtesting an idea with historical data saves money. We can track trading from anywhere with our smartphones. A high-speed internet connection, for example, can considerably improve trading performance. Technology and keeping up with new products may be exciting and lucrative in trade.

    Preserve your trading capital.
    Saving money for a trading account requires time and effort. It’s considerably harder when you have to do it again. Notably, safeguarding your trading capital does not imply never losing a trade. Every trader loses. Protecting capital means not taking needless risks and protecting your trading enterprise.

    Become a Student Of The Market

    Consider your career in trading as lifelong learning. Traders must keep learning every day. Remember that learning about markets and their nuances is a lifetime endeavour. Studying hard helps traders grasp economic information and help them develop an edge over the others. The ability to focus and observe allows traders to refine their skills. Politics, news, economics, and even the weather affect the markets. The market is fluid. Traders are better prepared for the future if they understand the past and current markets.

    Don’t Trade More Than You Can Afford to Lose

    First, be sure that all of the funds in your trading account are genuinely expendable. If it isn’t, you should save. Money in a trading account should not be used to pay for college or the mortgage. It is dangerous to use the money for trading that is earmarked for critical expenses. Money loss is bad enough. It’s even worse if it’s capital that should never have been risked.

    Develop a Fact-Based Methodology

    Developing a strong trading strategy takes time. It’s easy to fall for the online trading scams that promise trading strategies “so easy it’s like printing money.” Facts, not emotions or hope, should guide the creation of a trading strategy. In general, traders who are not in a hurry to learn can sort through the internet’s vast amount of data more easily. Suppose you wanted to change careers, but you needed to spend a year or two in college to be qualified to apply for a job in the new field. Learning to trade takes at least the same amount of effort and research.

    Use a Stop Loss

    As a trader, you set your own stop loss. The stop loss might be in rupees or percentages, but it restricts the trader’s risk. Using a stop-loss reduces tension when trading since we know we will only lose a certain amount. Even if a trade is profitable, not having a stop loss is undesirable. The trading plan’s guidelines allow for lost trades to be exited with a stop loss. The aim is to profit from every trade, but that is unrealistic. Using a precautionary stop-loss reduces losses.

    Know When to Sell

    Inefficient trading plans and ineffective traders are the worst combinations for a trading career. If you feel like your trading strategy is not responding well over a period of time, then take the time out to re-assess and develop your strategy again. An unsuccessful trading plan is an issue that has to be solved. It is not the end of a trading career.

    An ineffective trader is one who sets a trading plan but is unable to follow it. External stress, bad habits, and inactivity all contribute to this issue. Traders who are not in top trading condition may consider resting. After resolving any issues, the trader can resume operations.

    Remain Focused on Trading

    Trade with a big picture in mind. It’s normal to lose trades; it’s part of trading. A winning deal is only one step towards a successful business. And the cumulative profits matter.

    A trader’s performance improves once they accept wins and losses as part of the business. That is not to imply we cannot be happy about a successful deal, but we must also be aware of the possibility of a loss. Setting realistic goals is important for a trading career. Your company should make a reasonable profit in a reasonable time. Expecting to be a multi-millionaire by Tuesday is a recipe for disaster.

    Conclusion

    Understanding the value of each trading rule and how they interact can help a trader build a profitable trading firm. Traders who follow these criteria with discipline and patience might boost their chances of success in a highly competitive market.