A day trader can defined as a person who trades for an occupation, or as a trader that opens and closes positions in a single day. Strictly speaking a day trader will always only do daily trades, and will never hold a position beyond the daily market close. In practice, some day traders hold positions longer than a single day.
Other types of traders include:
- Scalper: A scalping trader will make very fast trades, only holding positions for minutes, or even seconds.
- Swing Trader: A swing trader day trades, but may hold positions for a few days.
- Position Trader: A position trader will hold positions for weeks to months.
- Investor: An investor takes a vested interest in a company, and invests for the long term of several months to years.