Monday, December 1, 2008

Stock Options 101: Predicting The Future

By Walter Fox

Are you new to stock option trading? Trading in options is the entire buzz on the market, but what is it? How does one learn to trade options successfully? What is technical analysis and how will it help me be successful at trading options?

The trick is to learn to trade options before investing in them. Options provide the buyer with the right to buy or sell the underlying stock at a set price. There are two types of options, a call and a put.

With the Call option the buyer can obtain an underlying stock before it expires from the stock holder at a preset cost. The Put option allows the buyer to get underlying stock from a stock holder before its expiration at the fixed price, not affected by the value of the stock.

Stock options are useless after they expire. That is why it is crucial to know the expiration date of the option. Every stock option expires on the third Friday in their contract month. That is why you must take advantage of the options before they go.

When you are trading options, you will never lose more than you have paid for the options. This is a big advantage which will keep you from losing any money. You should always think about how much money you are investing. This proves to be a key strategy in trading options, and saving money.

The most advanced traders of today monitor market trends at all times to watch for a profiting opportunity. Watching the market trend closely will teach you more about seeking out a good opportunity. In addition, you can use your technical analysis skills to study a situation to make crucial decisions.

One of the most important tools a stock option trader can have is technical analysis. Technical analysis is the only way to foresee upcoming market trends. It is what the elite traders use to guess what is next in the market. By analyzing the prices you can know when to buy or to sell, and by this you can definitely get ahead.

You can become a successful stock option trader if you are properly trained. There are many classes available online and offline. Training will provided you with knowledge that is needed when trading in options. After you have the proper training, most people practice "paper trading" for a short while, then later begin with real money. - 16003

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