Intraday trading means buying and selling the same stock on the same trading day so that you carry no open position overnight. In India that day runs 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM IST on the NSE and BSE, with auto-square-off windows that close any unbooked intraday position before the session ends.
This guide explains what you actually need to start — the account, the rules, the indicators, the risk math, and a simple daily routine — without selling you a course.
Who should not start intraday trading
Be honest with yourself first.
- You should not start intraday trading with money you cannot afford to lose.
- You should not start before you understand stop losses and position sizing.
- You should not start if you cannot watch the screen during market hours — intraday rewards attention, not gut feel.
If you only have time once a week, swing or delivery trading suits you better. See our comparison: Intraday vs delivery trading in India.
What you need to start
You need three things: a demat + trading account with a SEBI-registered broker, a funded ledger (cash in the broker account), and a device + stable internet. That is it.
Optional but recommended for your first 6 months:
- A paper-trading or simulator account.
- A spreadsheet or notebook for a daily journal.
- A research tool — for example our daily next-day shortlist or any public screener.
Order types you must know
You’ll see these on every broker app:
- MARKET — fills at the next available price. Convenient, but vulnerable to slippage in volatile stocks.
- LIMIT — fills only at your price or better. Use this on illiquid stocks and on most entries.
- SL (Stop-Loss Limit) — triggers a limit order when price crosses the trigger.
- SL-M (Stop-Loss Market) — triggers a market order when price crosses the trigger. Safer for fast-moving exits.
- MIS / Intraday product — leveraged intraday product that auto-square-offs at session end. Charges are lower than CNC delivery for the same trade.
A common beginner mistake is using SL (limit) for the stop and watching it not trigger during a sharp move. Use SL-M for exits when you genuinely want out.
Margin & leverage in India (post-SEBI peak-margin)
SEBI’s peak-margin framework now caps the leverage that brokers can offer. You can no longer trade ₹10 lakh of stock with ₹10,000.
For an in-depth read, see Intraday trading margin rules in India. The short version:
- For most cash-segment intraday trades, you put up the full VAR + ELM margin — typically 5x–10x lower leverage than the pre-2021 era.
- F&O intraday uses SPAN + Exposure, billed on the larger of the two.
- Any short delivery in the cash segment will hit auction settlement.
Treat leverage as a tax on impatience. Most consistent retail traders use 2x–3x effective leverage, not 10x.
Picking what to trade
Beginners should narrow their universe before they narrow a strategy.
- Start with the Nifty 100 or Nifty Next 50 — liquid, less prone to circuit lockups.
- Avoid penny stocks and T2T-listed counters until you have a year of data on yourself.
- Avoid trading on F&O ban-list stocks if you are in derivatives; the cash segment is fine.
Want a daily shortlist done for you? IntradayEdge publishes a next-trading-day picks page using indicators + an AI overlay every market day.
The indicators that matter (and the ones that don’t)
You don’t need 14 indicators. You need 3 that you understand.
Most intraday setups can be expressed with just:
- RSI(14) for momentum — see how to read RSI for intraday.
- MACD(12,26,9) for trend confirmation — see MACD explained for Indian markets.
- VWAP for fair price reference (mean reversion + trend filter).
You can add SuperTrend if you trade volatile breakouts: SuperTrend intraday guide.
Avoid the temptation to add Bollinger Bands, Stochastic, CCI, ADX, and a moon-cycle overlay on the same chart. Three confluent signals beat fifteen contradicting ones.
Position sizing: the only formula you must memorize
This single equation will protect you for life:
$$ \text{Position size} = \frac{\text{Account risk per trade}}{\text{Distance from entry to stop}} $$
Example: account ₹2,00,000, risk 0.5% per trade = ₹1,000. Stop is ₹3 away from entry on a ₹450 stock → position size = ₹1,000 / ₹3 = 333 shares.
Two rules that flow from this:
- Risk ≤ 0.5%–1% of your account per single trade. Anything more and a bad week ends you.
- No average-down on a losing intraday trade. Ever. Average up on winners instead.
Best time windows to trade
The Indian intraday session is not uniform — different time blocks behave differently. For a deeper read see the best time to trade intraday on NSE. The cheat sheet:
- 9:15 – 9:30 — opening volatility; skip unless you’ve practiced this window.
- 9:30 – 11:00 — best risk/reward for momentum continuation setups.
- 11:00 – 13:30 — chop zone; reduce size or stay out.
- 13:30 – 15:00 — second leg; trend-day continuation or reversal.
- 15:00 – 15:20 — close gym, square off cleanly. Avoid new entries.
A simple daily routine
Treat trading like a job, not a slot machine.
- Pre-market (9:00 – 9:15): scan SGX Nifty, key Asian indices, and your watchlist’s gap-up/gap-down list.
- First 15 min: observe; do not trade unless your strategy explicitly handles opening range.
- Trade window: enter only the setups your plan defines. One A+ setup is better than five “maybes”.
- Journal: log every trade with screenshot + reason + emotion + outcome.
- Post-market (3:45 – 4:15): review the journal; prepare next-day shortlist.
Need an automated shortlist? See how AI stock analysis is used in India.
Common beginner mistakes
- Revenge trading after a loss. Stop for the day after 2 consecutive losses.
- Adding to losers to “average”. This single habit wipes out more retail accounts than anything else.
- Trading the news. By the time you read it, it’s priced in.
- Holding intraday losers overnight by converting MIS → CNC. You’re just renaming a loss.
- Switching strategies every week. Pick one. Trade 100 of them. Measure. Then change.
Frequently asked questions
Is intraday trading legal in India? Yes. It’s a regulated activity under SEBI. You only need a regular trading + demat account with a SEBI-registered broker.
How much money do I need to start intraday? Technically, anything above the margin for one lot. Practically, ₹50,000–₹1,00,000 gives you enough buffer to size positions sanely and survive a normal losing streak.
Is intraday taxed differently from delivery? Yes. Intraday profits are taxed as speculative business income (added to your slab), while delivery profits are taxed as STCG (15%) or LTCG (10% above ₹1 lakh). Refer to your CA for your case.
Can I do intraday trading part-time? You can, but only if your strategy is rule-based and time-boxed (e.g., trade only opening range from 9:30–10:30). Discretionary part-time intraday rarely works.
Where to go next
If you’re ready to learn the indicators properly, start with how to read RSI for intraday and MACD for Indian markets.
If you want the analytical work done for you each day, open the IntradayEdge dashboard — it ships a fresh shortlist for the next trading session.
For risk and compliance details, read our disclaimer.