As a trader, it’s important to always be thinking ahead to your next big trading initiative. If you don’t, you could find yourself swept up in an adverse market movement – and that could spell losses. From monitoring the news to make sure you don’t miss any major market-shifting data releases, to checking out the latest trading tips to hone your strategies, there’s plenty you can do to give your trading career the boost it needs. Here, then, is some advice to follow for achieving that end.

 

Monitor the calendars

 

When planning your future trading strategy, it’s important to ensure that you consider all of the different market events that might be taking place around the time of your decision. Every day sees a new development: major economies release interest rate decisions around once a month, for example, and this can often affect the foreign exchange markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s governor, currently Philip Lowe, also often makes a speech following the reveal here in Australia – and this can hold lots of clues as to the direction of a future interest rate switch. Consumer confidence data releases, meanwhile, can in some cases contribute to a move in the stock markets, so they should be monitored if you’re a stock trader.

 

As a result, keeping an eye on the economic calendars is essential. These are available online and can be filtered to Australia-only events or events for wherever you’re trading. At first, the information list might seem overwhelming – but once you’ve been trading for a few months, you’ll soon start to see which events affect your portfolio. In some cases, it may be worth holding off making a new trading foray around these times in case they’re affected by a market decline. But in other cases, you may even be able to profit from the volatility by taking a bearish approach.

 

Read the press

 

Australia has a thriving business news scene, and it’s wise for traders of all instruments to take advantage of this. Major newspapers, such as the Sydney Morning Herald and the Herald Sun, have excellent business pages which both share stock market tips and look in detail at the wider business context. You don’t have to pick up a newspaper or a magazine in order to get a full understanding of how to make savvy trading decisions, though. Up to date Australian stock tips are also available online, and they can cover everything from advice on what stocks to buy to suggestions about when to sell your existing holdings. That means there’s no excuse for not reading up, as you can do so whenever you have a spare moment.

 

Working out your next trading moves is a good strategic decision, as very few traders who take a scattergun approach to investing in stocks, forex or CFDs end up enjoying long-term success. And with resources like the Australian press, online economic calendars and more all available, there’s no reason why you can’t make informed and wise trading decisions every single time.