What do professional traders read before starting the day?

Hi monkeys,

I am a recent graduate with no internship or graduate job lined up, graduated with an average grade in the U.K (so basically effed ). However, I have always been interested in trading and was wondering what things I need to know inside out if I want to break in. A comprehensive list of must knows information that professional traders read would be much appreciated because I am literally a tool if someone asks me where the market is heading towards. Could be anything like an index you religiously follow, interest rates, indicator. Anything is much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

From what I have seen most read economic releases, as well as anything material on the macro level, and what global markets did overnight/what futures are doing. This is what i observed from a muni bond trader, I am sure it differs quite a bit when you narrow the scope of your market.

Edit: For example Initial jobless claims, unemployment, PMI, non-manufacturing ism, credit spreads, treasury curves, and a handful of other things. If you have a BB Terminal it is much easier to obtain all of this information quickly.

 

Typically will be sent morning reports about overnight market performance along with why said market reacted that way. Depending on the desk some preference will be placed in either interest rate changes overnight or commodity price changes. Along with a whole host of macroeconomic data and upcoming events.

Further the trader will often be sent research reports from their firms analysts regarding any recent news in relation to sectors covered.

 
Best Response

Hi fellow monkey,

Here is my 2 cents. I know you asked about what to do on a daily basis, but I will take more of a wholesome approach to answering your question

First: You need to understand how to perform fundamental and technical analysis. Basically, fundamental analysis involves analyzing the underlying fundamental value of a given stock/company. This includes the company's strategy, macro/micro factors that could influence the future value of the company, employer-employee relationship,..etc.

Technical analysis which is what most traders do is to study the stock charts, carefully analyze them, and try to figure out if there is a re-occuring pattern that you can utilize to make an educated trade. If you are interested you can look up A/D line, MACD, and the GAP charts. Try to absorb each chart (this will take time), but also take everything with a grain of salt. There is a ton of variables affecting market movements and it is not likely one thing, or a couple, can tell you a lot.

Second: Educate yourself by reading as many books and articles as possible. "Stock Market Wizards", "Trading for a Living", and "Winning on Wall Street" are good for beginners

Third: Read the news. Extremely useful. A lot of the market inefficiency is because of positive/negative news that sometimes has nothing to do with the underlying value of the stock.

Fourth: Practise. The more experienced you get, the better you will be. Be patient :)

 
finance-wizard:
Hi fellow monkey,

Here is my 2 cents. I know you asked about what to do on a daily basis, but I will take more of a wholesome approach to answering your question

First: You need to understand how to perform fundamental and technical analysis. Basically, fundamental analysis involves analyzing the underlying fundamental value of a given stock/company. This includes the company's strategy, macro/micro factors that could influence the future value of the company, employer-employee relationship,..etc.

Technical analysis which is what most traders do is to study the stock charts, carefully analyze them, and try to figure out if there is a re-occuring pattern that you can utilize to make an educated trade. If you are interested you can look up A/D line, MACD, and the GAP charts. Try to absorb each chart (this will take time), but also take everything with a grain of salt. There is a ton of variables affecting market movements and it is not likely one thing, or a couple, can tell you a lot.

Second: Educate yourself by reading as many books and articles as possible. "Stock Market Wizards", "Trading for a Living", and "Winning on Wall Street" are good for beginners

Third: Read the news. Extremely useful. A lot of the market inefficiency is because of positive/negative news that sometimes has nothing to do with the underlying value of the stock.

Fourth: Practise. The more experienced you get, the better you will be. Be patient :)

I'm not saying finance-wizard is wrong--just that my approach is completely different. Ultimately whatever prepares you to do what you need to do best is what you should be doing.

I don't read anything.

I'm not a believer in fundamentals. There may be isolated exception but their correlation with future market moves is, at best, weak.

I only believe in technicals to a limited degree. While they can tell you about the current state of the market, using them to predict what's going to happen next is a probability game and requires an extensive system development methodology.

I find books and articles okay for new ideas but largely fluff and unnecessary distraction.

I try to avoid the news. The media specializes in retrospective attribution and hindsight bias. Their job is to sensationalize to get ratings--not help you make money trading.

 

never look at what direction the ducks are moving -- try to get an underwater view of where their feet are paddling. because that way you'll see where their trying to move, which will come to fruition once the current eases.

and yes, i absolutely came up with that aphorism just now. that's what a dual econ/philosophy degree does to you.

 

in case no one understood my previous post, what i'm trying to say in plain English is:

instead of "reading the news headlines", take a deep dive into the underlying market sentiment. take a look at previous day's closing trade imbalances, current put/call ratio, any large blocks of bids/asks on your Tier2, etc etc. you're looking at people's ACTIONS here, as opposed to their WORDS when you read headlines.

of course, this is more for day/weekly traders. if you're a long-term macro guy, this won't help.

 

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