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Happy Fourth – Celebrate Your Independence

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 7/3/2025 3 min read
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The market is closed today in observance of America’s Independence.

And it’s fitting … The stock market made new all-time highs last week.

Look at the chart of the S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) below. Every candle represents one trading day.

SPY chart multi-month, 1-day candles Source: StocksToTrade

It’s already been a crazy year.

And there aren’t any signs that it will slow down.

Take this long weekend to rest and recover. You’ll need the energy next week.

On Monday, after this long weekend, traders will chomp at the bit to make some trades in the market. The hype will be at its strongest.

For example, last Monday, June 30, BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. (AMEX: BMNR) spiked 700%*. It pushed even higher on Tuesday …

And that was after a regular-length weekend.

By all means, celebrate this Independence Day.

But make sure to celebrate your own independence too. An independence in the stock market.

It comes with a responsibility to prepare for Monday’s trade setups. Maybe the strongest setups of the week.

How To Study This Weekend

Make sure that you review the FREE and LIVE trading sessions from this week.

My millionaire students, Matt Monaco and Bryce Tuohey, are live streaming their trades every morning.

You can find them uploaded to the StocksToTrade X account.

Look at an example below:

When it comes to Morning trades, there’s no time to check your notes.

It’s essential that you have a solid understanding of these patterns and a clear trade plan before you enter a position.

More Breaking News

Watch Matt and Bryce plan their trades in real time.

It will make a huge difference for your perspective in the market.

Watch as many of these trading sessions as you can this weekend. We all know that you’re going to kick back and watch Netflix at some point …

Kick back and watch live trading instead.

That’s what it takes to become a successful trader.

You need to exercise discipline now so that you can remain disciplined with a large account.

As an example of this discipline … I gave three LIVE webinars on Wednesday of last week, back-to-back-to-back.

Look at my post below:

Leave a comment on this blog if you made it to all three!

Get ready for Monday’s runners. Because they’re right around the corner.

And when you’re ready to supercharge your trading journey … 

Apply to the Challenge for full access to my complete trading strategy.

Cheers

 

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results

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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”