Professional trading follow the practice of buying and selling of financial instruments within the same trading day such as positions will always be closed before the market close of the same trading day. This is primarily buying and selling of securities to capitalize on a potential rise in a securities value or shorting and covering the exposure to capitalize on a potential drop in value. Professional traders capitalize on small moves in the value of a security with upstream or downstream in the value of a stock.

Professional traders focus on very short term trading where the trade may last a few seconds to few minutes. They buy and sell many times in a day, trading very high volumes daily. Traders focus on momentum or trends. They are more patient and wait for a ride on the strong move which may occur on that day.

Some of the more commonly day-traded financial instruments are stocks and stock options.

Professional trading is the live blood of financial firms and professional investors and speculators. Now Professional trading has become increasingly popular among traders due to advanced technology, changes in Regulations, and the development of the Financial markets.