Scalping is a trading style that aims to profit from small price changes in financial markets. It can refer to either a legitimate method of arbitrage of small price gaps created by the bid-ask spread or a fraudulent form of market manipulation). In day trading, scalping is a term for a strategy to prioritize making high-frequency trades with small profits. The goal of a scalper is not to make an enormous profit with each trade but rather to make a small profit over many little trades.

Scalping requires a trader to have a strict exit strategy because one large loss could eliminate the many small gains the trader worked to obtain. Having the right tools, such as a live feed, a direct-access broker, and the stamina to place many trades, is required for this strategy to be successful. Scalping can be adopted as a primary or supplementary style of trading. Based on particular setups, any trading system can be used for the purposes of scalping. In this regard, scalping can be seen as a kind of risk management method.

Scalping is often less risky than other trading strategies and is a relatively simple concept to grasp, which adds to its popularity. Scalpers can place anywhere from a few to one hundred-plus trades a day, always attempting to turn a small profit with each individual trade. Scalping day traders are often on the hunt for highly volatile stocks – those that are the subject of positive news or perhaps an overall swing in the market. Then, scalpers begin to buy and sell the upswing of the stock, taking their profits many times throughout the day.

Scalping is a fast-paced day trading strategy that involves quickly buying and selling to profit from small fluctuations in price. It is often used in forex trading, where traders buy or sell a currency pair and then hold it for a short period of time in an attempt to make a small profit from the trade. Scalping is different from other types of day trading strategies because it involves opening and closing trades within a short period of time.