Trading term
What is Day trading?
Day trading is buying and selling within the same day, so you hold nothing overnight. Most people who try it lose money: careful counts put it at 70% to 90% in any one year.
A day trader opens and closes every position before the market closes. The aim is to profit from small moves inside the day, often with borrowed money (leverage) to make those moves worth trading. Common ways to do it are shares, futures, options and, in the UK and Europe, CFDs.
Because a day trader trades often, costs matter more than for an investor. Commissions, the bid-ask spread and fees are paid on every trade, and they add up. India's market regulator found that before costs 82.1% of individual options and futures traders lost money in FY26, and after costs 87.7% did.
UK and EU CFD brokers must print the share of their own retail accounts that lose money. On 22 October 2026 the 16 we read ranged from 55% to 81.9%.
For example
A trader buys 200 shares at $50.00 at 10:15 and sells them at $50.40 at 14:30. That's an $80 gain before costs. If commissions and the spread cost $12, they keep $68, and they hold nothing overnight.
Go hands-on in Premium
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Explore Premium →Why it matters to you
Day trading is where most of the famous loss statistics come from. Knowing the odds before you start helps you size what you risk, and judge your results against simply holding an index fund.
⚠ A good month isn't a skill
Plenty of day traders have a winning month or even a winning year. In Taiwan, fewer than 1% made money reliably year after year. Judge yourself over a long record, after every cost.