The Indian stock exchanges open at 09:15 AM and close at 15:30 PM. Since the daily window is so small, timing your trades is a vital part of successful intraday trading.

There is no fixed best time frame for intraday trading. As an intraday trader, you need to continuously monitor the market movements to make the right moves. However, there are certain times that can be considered the best time for intraday trading. This is when the markets usually show an upswing. Many traders consider the windows of 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM or 13:00 PM to 14:30 PM as the best time for intraday trading. Do note, this is not a rule but just an observation. You should carefully consider the movements of the stock you’re monitoring and trade as per your strategy irrespective of the time of the day.

Intraday trading involves taking advantage of the price fluctuations of stocks by opening trade positions, according to the trend. There is no exchange of securities and delivery taken or provided. Now, to be able to do volume-based trading to enhance your gains, you will be required to put in big capital for each session. This may not always be feasible and can make you miss out on lucrative opportunities.

Intraday trading margin is a facility that allows you to take positions on stocks that would have been beyond your financial means. Intraday margin is the fund loaned to you by the broker, to continue trading in large volumes.

By day trading on margin, you can take advantage of the surplus amount offered by the broker to take substantially bigger positions and aim to maximise your profits. Usually, the margin facility is offered by brokers in lieu of the shares as collateral. Eventually, you will need to repay the amount borrowed and the interest applicable on it, to square off your accounts.

A stock market is a marketplace to buy and sell various financial instruments such as equities, bonds, and derivatives. You can only make transactions in the stock market through brokers. It is crucial to know how stock market works before you begin your investment journey.

The price of a security listed on a stock exchange (BSE or NSE) is decided by its demand and supply in the market. The broker places orders on the stock exchange on your behalf. Further, the stock exchange looks for buyers and sellers at a price pre-defined by you. Once the exchange finds the right match, your order is executed. The security acquired or sold by you is stored in a DEMAT account. It takes t+2 days for the security to reach your DEMAT account.

Intraday trade means buying and selling a security on the same day, which results in no change in stocks you hold at the end of the day. In delivery trades, you take delivery or sell your shares which may change the composition of your portfolio. For example, suppose Reliance Industries (RIL) declared its December quarter earnings yesterday, and reported massive growth across business verticals. This usually means RIL share prices will rise in subsequent trading. You want to take benefit of this price movement and place a buy order in the morning. You have two options here: One, you place an intraday buy order and book profit by selling them before the market close. In this trade, no shares are credited to your DEMAT account. Option two is buy shares for more than one day, that is, take delivery of shares to benefit from multiple days or months of price movement. Shares you buy will be credited top your DEMAT account.

The following are the basic intraday trading tips for beginners.

Pick the right market: Always pick the market you understand—whether equity, commodity or currency.
Pick right security: Choose a stock or a commodity which has high liquidity. You also need to be aware of any news triggers for the selected security to make a profitable trade.
Fix entry/exit price beforehand: Before you process your order, decide at what price you want to enter the trade. This will help you reduce mistakes. Similarly, always exit trade once price reaches the target.
Have a stop loss: If the price is not moving according to your prediction, having a stop loss cuts your losses before it becomes too big. Always exit your trade one stop loss is breached.
Get the timing right: Pick a suitable time to trade. Early in the day and in the last hour, volatility is very high. For beginners, trading around the noon can be best time to trade. Diversify: Never put all eggs in a single basket. Trade with a small portion of your capital or bet on more than one security. Then, in case one trade goes bad, you won’t lose your entire capital.
Learn to read charts: Most trading is done after doing a technical analysis of a security. It is better to have a basic understanding of common charts and patterns to make a profitable trade.