8 Major Mistakes Day Traders Make
Trading effectively is a learned skill, and it takes practice. Every trader makes mistakes somewhere along the way, but that doesn’t mean these mistakes are inevitable. In fact, many are easy mistakes to avoid, as long as investors know what they are and can exercise some discipline. Here are eight mistakes to avoid.
1. Using ‘Gut Feelings’ to Time the Market
Markets are unpredictable. There are time-honored methods you can use to analyze market patterns and behavior, but no one can predict it with 100% certainty. But one of the biggest mistakes a trader can make is trying to time the market using just “gut feelings” – instead of hard data. Instead of playing the guessing game to make trades, traders should rely on fundamental and technical analysis to make smart trades. Tickeron’s Trend Prediction Engine is a good place to start – it uses A.I. to analyze historic trends and offers Prediction Confidence Levels to help you make trades based on real data and not your gut.
2. Not Knowing Your Odds of Success Before You Trade
If you’re making a trade based on a technical trading pattern or an indicator, have you back-tested it to see how often the security reaches actually reached its target price, historically? Using charts to find patterns can be thrilling, especially when you think you find a trade that fits perfectly. But if you don’t go a step further and get supporting data that can tell you the probability that the security will reach its target price, you’re leaving keying information on the table. Tickeron has algorithmically-powered day trading tools that scan thousands of stocks and ETFs for patterns, breakouts, and target prices, the A.I. goes a step further to determine confidence levels and the odds of a success of every trade.
3. A Good Story Doesn’t Mean a Good Investment
Everyone loves a great story, but good press coverage doesn’t always correlate to smart investments. Knowledge is power – successful investors look beyond media hype and gather insights from data to better determine the potential of an asset. A.I. makes it possible to analyze data at a scale and accuracy level far exceeding human ability, showing you the underlying trends (and not the fluff) that make for profitable trading.
4. Panicking in Volatile Markets
Markets are volatile – it can be tempting to make instinctive, emotional decisions when a market is performing poorly. That’s where Tickeron A.I. comes in. Pattern analysis, trend predictions, and more remove emotion from the equation and give the knowledge you need to be confident and stay the course or exit.
5. Being Afraid to Sell
No one like to take a loss, but experienced traders know sometimes it’s best to say goodbye to underperforming assets. Tools like the Pattern Search Engine comb price charts for bullish and bearish patterns and price trends that can alert you of potential swings or expected changes in price.
6. Playing the Waiting Game
‘Buy low, sell high’ is the guiding principle of any investor, but that doesn’t mean that traders should wait for a stock to dip and purchase every stock amid a downtrend. The Pattern Search Engine uses Tickeron’s A.I.dvisor to scan the market to locate patterns of your choice, then provides you with breakout prices, predicted target prices, confidence levels, and other statistics to make trades at the most advantageous times.
7. Overweighting Assets
At any given time, certain sectors will outperform others (as will individual assets within each sector). Putting all your eggs in one basket, however, means potentially overweighting asset classes and risking heavy losses. Smart investors diversify and rebalance their portfolios even if an asset class is performing well. Tickeron’s Asset Allocator and Diversification Score use A.I. to comb through data and deliver the insights you need to do build an effective portfolio.
8. Following the Pack
Novice traders can be guilty of following the pack a bit too closely. This can mean overpaying in uptrends and thinking short when an asset is on the verge of a turnaround. A.I. backed Decision Confidence Levels offer analysis and statistics to set you apart from the rest of the field – and position you to capitalize when others might be content to stick with the herd.
Looking for Fresh Investment Ideas? See How Algorithms and A.I. Can Help
Want to invest and/or diversify your portfolio but unsure where to start? Artificial Intelligence can help! Tickeron has developed user friendly Artificial Intelligence tools to help new and experienced investors generate investment ideas. Tickeron’s A.I. is capable of evaluating a portfolio and providing a “Diversification Score,” to tell the user how well-diversified their portfolio is. It can also generate investment ideas for a user’s 401(k) plan – even if you’re just getting started! The A.I. will give you ideas based on your risk tolerance, investment objectives, and the investment options available.
Tickeron’s new financial website is available to beginners, intermediate investors, and even experts and advisors. Explore tickeron.com today.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
Momentum Indicator for SPY turns positive, indicating new upward trend
SPY saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on September 03, 2026. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new upward move. Traders may want to consider buying the stock or buying call options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 77 similar instances where the indicator turned positive. In of the 77 cases, the stock moved higher in the following days. The odds of a move higher are at .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. of 43 cases where SPY's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are .
The 10-day moving average for SPY crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on August 05, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 15 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SPY advanced for three days, in of 362 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for SPY moved out of overbought territory on August 14, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 47 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 47 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for SPY turned negative on August 20, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 52 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 52 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SPY declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
SPY broke above its upper Bollinger Band on August 04, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
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