The Hindu Business Line : We've Got Mail!

Does your mind paint a picture of chaos, noise, panic or gleeful yells when someone mentions a stock market trading floor? Well, in that case you aren't too far off the mark! Last week, we had asked our readers to share with us their experiences in the dealing room and here are some of them.

"When you enter the share dealer's kiosk you can see the different moods of our investment fraternity. While some show emotions almost as soon as their trades turn profitable, some are a stark contrast. They make a killing and yet remain stoic and composed, without even an inkling of anxiety or stress. I think such composure comes only with experience."

D. Nalini, home-maker and investor, Mumbai

"On the news that BPCL and HPCL were to be disinvested I bought both the shares to book profit intra-day. At about 2 pm I told my broker to sell all the shares since I was at that time sitting on profits of about Rs 15, 000. But fate had a different plan for me. Just when I was giving my dealer the sell order, a trader sitting nearby me told me to hold the position as he felt the shares would soar further. The idea of greater profits got the better of me and I told my dealer to hold the position for some more time. And as luck would have it, in no time the shares started falling and I ended my trade with a loss! But then, I learnt a very valuable lesson - Never to go by the word of others while trading."

Niaz Salim, Indian Railways, Ernakulam

"I started as a day trader. While it was fun to trade sitting in the dealing room, at times it was equally scary to hear too many views from fellow traders as it also affected my thought process. I couldn't make significant money as a jobber and decided to play for larger gains over a period of time by focussing on both fundamental and technical analysis. So, while I now pick up stocks based on fundamentals, I apply technicals to choose the right entry and exit timing."

Ramesh, Trader, Coimbatore

"I was an avid investor during early 90s, but following the Harshad Mehta scandal, when both technicals and fundamentals went awry, I lost a chunk of my investment. And I decided to trade intra-day. But then even in intra-day trading I lost a lot of money by simply placing high stakes and waiting for big profits to happen. From my experience, I feel day trading would certainly fetch profit, provided we limit our profit and fix some target for the day. A small amount of profit everyday may give reasonably good return over a period of time."

K. R. Naresh Kumar, Self-employed, Hyderabad

"In the ten years of dealing room experience, I have never seen a trader who has made consistent profits . A common psychology among traders is, if one places a long order the person sitting beside him immediately becomes bearish about the stock. This would provoke the person to hurl abuses."

S. Raju, Marketing Executive, Madurai

(Do you think global events hold relevance to Indian investors? If yes, which global indicators do you actively track?

Write in to us at younginvestor@thehindu.co.in)