Swing Trading 101: How To Get Started

Swing trading is a style of trading stocks that isn’t day trading or investing. It sits in between those two styles. Day trading is going in and out of positions during a single day. Investing is holding for the long-term (i.e., months and years).

Swing trading positions are generally held for a few days or weeks. The specific types of trading strategies or techniques can vary widely—some associate swing trading with taking advantage of price swings while others prefer straight momentum up trends.

But, at its core, swing trading is more about the time a trade is held than any particular trading style. Let's take a closer look at how swing trading works to help you decide if it its a worthwhile strategy for making money in the stock market.