Are you a short-term position trader, long-term position trader or a day trader? Knowing your trading style or preference might be the most useful when formulating your next trade.
The short-term and long-term trader is looking for a defined trend. They look for a price that would be the turning point that would take the trend from up to down to sideways, or vice versa using key support and resistance numbers to place strategic stops and profit targets.
The day trader uses the same key numbers but does not necessarily follow the trend. Key example: Today the trend for the indices is down. Short-term and long-term position traders are holding short positions from the higher levels made last week. Day traders, on the other hand, came in today looking to trade these markets from the long side, buying along key intraday support levels. The same support and resistance numbers used by the position traders can be used by the day trader as well even though they have different objectives. If the day trade longs make money today, that does not mean the position traders are wrong. Those who do not want to take the overnight exposure or put up the full margin (day traders pay 50% of the full margin) to trade these markets, may want to take a look at the intraday opportunities no matter what the trend may be.