Swing trading is a trading style where a stock is held for a period ranging from a few days to 2 or 3 weeks. Beginners in the stock market usually employ this style, although intermediate and advanced traders may also gain from it. Swing trading depends on the weekly or monthly fluctuations in stock prices. Monitoring short-term variations in the market must trade in this style, because the trader must be quick to react. Traders employing swing trading do not depend on the fundamental value of stocks; rather they stress price patterns and short-term momentum.

Swing trading lies somewhere between day trading and trend trading. In day trading, the trader holds on to a stock for a time period ranging from a few minutes to few hours. However, he does not hold the stock for more than a day. A trend trader, on the other hand, analyzes the fundamental trend of the stock, and may hold it for weeks or months. Swing traders do not wait for the prices to reach rock bottom while purchasing or for the highest prices while selling. Instead, they capitalize on the short-term movements in the stock market. Persons involved in swing trading do not face competition from big traders.

A person seeking success through swing trading must learn to pick the right stocks. The right stocks usually include the ones belonging to blue-chip companies. These stocks tend to swing between extreme values. A swing trader follows a stock for a couple of days during the upward swing. During the stocks downward journey, the trader simply switches over to another rising stock. Swing trading is most profitable when the markets are stable. It is during this period that the stocks display a general pattern of rising and declining within a time span of few days. In more unstable markets, stocks do not exhibit any expected oscillating patterns. They are either in rising mode or in falling mode, with less fluctuation. When those are the market conditions, swing trading is not a profitable option.