Recently, many people have been asking whether they can buy stocks today and sell them tomorrow. In fact, this question reflects the real challenges many retail investors face—the T+2 trading system makes it difficult to respond quickly to market changes.

Actually, the Taiwan stock market already has a solution: what’s commonly known as “day trading” or “intraday trading.” Simply put, it uses the broker’s margin trading and short-selling mechanisms so you can complete buying and selling within the same day, without having to wait until the next day. Since Taiwan opened up cash day trading in 2014, this kind of trading has become an important part of the market. It’s said that now nearly 40% of Taiwan stock trading volume comes from day trading.

The logic of day trading is actually very straightforward: if you believe a certain stock will rise, you buy at around 9 a.m., then sell before the market closes in the afternoon. Conversely, if you think it will fall, you can sell first and buy later. The key is that all actions are settled within the same day, which avoids the risk of holding positions overnight.

But here’s an important point—day trading isn’t really a “no-capital” business. Although in theory a buy and a sell can offset each other, you still need enough funds to carry out the process. And the first lesson in stock selling is to calculate costs clearly. For cash day trading, the trading fees plus the securities transaction tax are about 0.29%. If you trade 5 times in a day, your total costs can jump to 1.45%. This means the stock needs a substantial price increase to truly make a profit; otherwise, the fees will eat up your gains.

Cash day trading in Taiwan also has eligibility restrictions. You need to have opened an account with a broker for at least 3 months, have more than 10 trades in the past year, and sign a risk disclosure statement. If you want to do margin day trading (financing and securities lending), the threshold is higher: your trading value in the past year must be at least NT$250,000.

It’s also worth noting that not all stocks are eligible for day trading. Currently, only stocks that are components of the Taiwan 50 Index and the Mid-Cap 100 Index, plus component stocks of the OTC 50 Index (about 200 stocks in total), qualify. Odd-lot trading is completely not open for day trading, and some stocks labeled as “disposal stocks” are also restricted.

As for how many times you can day trade the same stock in a single day: technically, there’s no limit on the number of times, as long as you have enough funds or available credit during trading hours (from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) and can keep executing. But in practice, limits related to capital, stock eligibility, and accumulated trading costs will directly affect how much you can trade.

Speaking of stock selling lessons, one point many people overlook is the psychological factor. Day trading requires you to watch the market all day. No matter how the overall market moves, how individual stocks fluctuate, or what news comes out, you have to be ready to make decisions at any moment. For many people, that can be a heavy psychological burden. Moreover, short-term trading can easily fall into a vicious cycle—getting the direction right but taking profits too early because of leverage pressure, or getting the direction wrong but not cutting losses in time due to psychological resistance.

Besides stocks, futures, options, and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are inherently T+0 instruments, so they naturally allow buying and selling on the same day. Futures require a margin of several hundred thousand yuan, options are relatively cheaper (you can start with just a few thousand yuan), and CFDs have the lowest threshold—you can open an account with just tens to hundreds of dollars. However, these instruments all carry significant leverage risks, so you need to be especially careful.

Returning to the essence of stock selling lessons: the most important thing is to understand your own risk tolerance. Day trading can bring quick profits, but it can also lead to quick losses. If you don’t have sufficient capital, sharp judgment, or strong psychological resilience, day trading may not be suitable for you. Many people are drawn to day trading, but end up losing terribly because of leverage risks or trading costs.

Finally, the advice is: if you truly want to try day trading, start with cash day trading and don’t rush into financing and securities lending. Give yourself some time to understand the market rhythm and practice how to buy and sell at the right times. Day trading isn’t gambling—it requires disciplined, patient trading.