Real Time Market Data
Swing traders enter and exit trades within days or weeks, therefore end-of-day data that is available on the Internet for free is sufficient for them. But day traders need real time intraday data because they enter and exit trades within a few hours and often within a few minutes. Unfortunately, real time market data is not free, and you need to pay a monthly fee to your broker or to your platform provider such as DAS Trader. Which market data you should buy depends on the market that you are trading in. If you are planning to trade in the Canadian market, you need real time Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) data. I largely limit my trading to the U.S. markets because of its high volume (liquidity) and volatility, therefore I need the real time Nasdaq TotalView Level 2 data feed. Without real time market data, you cannot day trade properly.