One life one Dream
3525 Points
Joined May 2010
STOP - LOSS :
It is a price level or a mechanism that forces a trader to take/book losses in a losing position instead of letting them grow any bigger. Ideally a Stop-loss level should be decided as soon as a trade is executed. If a stock say ABC is bought at 25$, Stop-loss for it can be kept at a price level somewhat lower than 25$. It can be 24, 23, 20 or even 15$. Let us assume the Stop-loss is kept at 20$. This means if the price of ABC, after having bought at 25$, goes below 20$, one should close the position by selling it. 5$ is the loss the buyer is limiting to. This might be little confusing for novice traders because it involves closing a position willingly at a loss! Remember: In a long position, the Stop-loss level is usually lower than the entry price.
Likewise if a person Shorts (what is this term? It means sell first even if you don't own the stock with the hope to buy it back later at a lower price) ABC stocks at 25$, he should keep a Stop-loss at any price higher than 25$. Say if it was kept at 30$, this means if the price moves up contrary to the initial expectations of it going down, and touches 30$, one should call it a quit and square up the position. Thus, in a short sell, the Stop-loss price is higher than the price at which the stock was sold.