Recently, while reviewing the market, I found that many people are asking the same question: long-term positions are stuck—should you switch to short-term trading? My view is that if you really want to do short-term stock selection, you first need to figure out what you’re doing.

Short-term trading is essentially buying and selling within one or two days, or even within a single day, profiting from price fluctuations. Many people think this requires researching a company’s fundamentals, but that’s not true. The logic behind short-term stock selection is simple: look for stocks that have specific themes, high trading volume, and strong price volatility, then use technical analysis to determine when to enter and exit.

When it comes to the core elements of short-term stock selection, I think the most important thing is three points. First, you need real-time market hot spots. Whether it’s industry trends like AI and semiconductors, or a company’s earnings reports and major news, these can attract investors to follow the trend—only then will there be trading volume. Second, trading volume must be sufficient—you need to be able to buy in and sell out, with small spreads—so you won’t get stuck. Lastly, the stock price must have enough volatility. With volatility, there are opportunities.

I’ve noticed that the clearest short-term opportunities in the market right now are still concentrated in a few sectors. The AI and semiconductor theme is currently the most mainstream. Stocks like NVDA and SMCI often surge around earnings reports. Tesla, driven by Elon Musk’s tweets and delivery data, frequently rises and falls by 5% to 10% within a day—making it a favorite among short-term traders. There’s also another category: high-volatility thematic stocks. Although they move a lot and are prone to gap-ups, their liquidity is not as good as that of leading stocks, so you need to be careful about slippage when entering and exiting.

Crypto-asset concept stocks are also worth paying attention to, such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy. They are highly correlated with Bitcoin, so as long as the coin price moves, these stocks react quickly. Event-driven stocks like Oracle may not attract much attention in normal times, but as soon as earnings season arrives, they become the focus of the whole market. Implied volatility can jump sharply, and gaps of over 5% are common.

What you fear most when doing short-term stock selection is a lack of discipline and poor risk control. I suggest using a demo account first to get familiar with the trading rhythm of these stocks, figure out what pace fits you, and then consider real trading. The U.S. stock market is the most suitable for short-term trading because it has high liquidity, no commission fees, and it allows multiple buys and sells within the same day.

Finally, I want to say that short-term stock selection is not investing—it’s trading. You should treat it as a tool, not a belief. Setting stop-losses and controlling risk is more important than anything else. If you want to try, you can practice first on some platforms that offer U.S. stock CFD trading, which can help reduce friction costs and make it more flexible to go long or short.