If you’ve been wondering how to trade stocks for beginners but don’t know where to start, this is the perfect resource for you. Even though this primer is primarily for beginners, veterans and seasoned pros can still learn something new.

This article and video describe how to execute a trade using an online trading platform. If you’re seeking information on trading strategies like day trading, swing trading and long-term investing and you’ll find a whole world of information here at Investment U.

The video above also presents the information on trading stocks for beginners that is included in this article.. So feel free to watch the video and refer back to this article for reference as well as you learn how to trade stocks.

Your Beginner’s Guide to Trading Stocks

Trading Stocks with Online Brokerages and Investment Apps

The first thing you need to do when learning how to trade stocks is access to a licensed broker, an online brokerage or a trading app like Robinhood. In the investing tutorial video above, Oxford Club Research Manager Ben Dressing uses Investopedia’s Trading Simulator, which allows you to learn the ropes of trading without actually committing real money.

While most online brokerages have unique platform designs, they all generally have the same essential features for placing a trade online. So the online broker you use may look a bit different from the one seen in the video above but should function similarly.

Looking Up the Stock Ticker Symbol

When a beginner decides what stock to trade,  they’ll need to know its ticker symbol. For example, let’s say you decided to purchase some shares of Apple. You can look up the ticker symbol for Apple in your online trading platform, or you can find it by searching for “Apple” on a site like Yahoo Finance. 

The ticker symbol for Apple is AAPL, so we’ll go ahead and enter that into the trading software in the “Company” field.

Quantity of Shares and Stock Pricing

The next thing a stock trading beginner needs to decide is how many shares of the stock you want to purchase. A good rule of thumb is to not put more than 4% of your portfolio in any one position. 

We’ll buy 19 shares of Apple in this example.

One of the most important things to pay attention to when purchasing a stock is its buy price. Here are some specific definitions relating to the buy price that you need to know:

• Last Price – The most recent price at which Apple sold. 
• Bid – What people are willing to pay for the stock.
• Ask – The price at which people are willing to sell stock.

You never want to pay more than the ask price. And the general rule of thumb is to go between the ask and sell price. 

Types of Stock Orders when Trading Stocks

The next decision a stock trading beginner needs to determine what type of order we would like to put in. If we select to purchase the stock with a market order, it will likely be filled at a price close to the ask price.

If you put in a limit order, you can set the price you would like to purchase the stock for. The limit price sets the maximum you are willing to pay. If the stock is trading at $212, but you do not want to pay more than $211, you can set a limit order for $211. Then you execute the trade only If the stock drops to that price or below.

Similarly, if we set the limit price at $210.18, as the video shows, that is the highest price we are willing to buy the stock at.

The Duration of the Order

The next thing for a stock trading beginner to do is set is the duration of the trade. If you select the good until canceled option, this tells the brokerage that the price we set is good until we manually cancel it. In other words, it keeps the order valid until it is filled and the stock is actually bought. Or until we cancel the order.

You can also set cancel dates. So if you select day order, the order will be valid until the end of the trading day. At that point, if the system makes no purchase, the order will be automatically canceled. 

Finalize Your Stock Trade & Concluding Thoughts on How to Trade Stocks for Beginners

Now we can preview and review our order. Some brokerages will have a commission fee for the trade, and that will be reflected in the total cost. 

It will display your estimated total cost. If you need to edit or cancel your order, now is the time to do so. 

Now you may place your order.

Go to your account overview and look at your orders where you can see your filled and open orders. You will see your order in the open orders list until the completion of the order.

Those are the fundamentals you to know for how to trade stocks for beginners. Of course, that’s the easy part. Now you’ll need to do your research and decide on the best stocks to buy. And that’s where the real fun begins.

The experts at Investment U have decades of experience providing the latest market insights and analyzing the latest trends. Learn how to invest in stocks, sign up for the Investment U newsletter or read the next article below.

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