5 ms·
> Why not just do the exact opposite of whatever their initial hunch is. If your initial hunch is to buy a stock you don't own yet, you can't sell it instead.
by KeytarHero 10y ago
> Why not just do the exact opposite of whatever their initial hunch is.
If your initial hunch is to buy a stock you don't own yet, you can't sell it instead.
- enraged_camel 10y agoYou buy stocks for two reasons. Either you think they will go up (long) or you think they will go down (called "shorting"). You can think of them as opposites.
- KeytarHero 10y agoBuying short isn't the opposite of buying long - it's the reciprocal. Which is an important distinction: if you buy a diversified portfolio of 10 stocks and one goes bust, if you bought long you've lost 10%. If you bought short, you're completely broke.
- dragonwriter 10y ago> If your initial hunch is to buy a stock you don't own yet, you can't sell it instead. You can (by selling on margin) if you have a margin account.
- dbish 10y agoYou can short it.