Before you can begin to trade the stock market or develop  market strategy, you should learn the “ticker” or symbols that each corporations stock will be listed under, in the various exchanges.

The same can be said for Forex traders before they begin any other currency trading strategy.

The number of currencies traded, is potentially as high as the number of currencies that exist.

However, less than 18 currencies traditionally have enough liquidity to make trading worthwhile for investors

Learning only 18 currency symbols makes the currency trading strategy and market analysis of investment, simpler in some respects, than learning the thousands of monikers listed in the stock market.

Having a firm grasp of each corporation’s moniker is a good stock market strategy before engaging in day trades because the fast paced environment, could make a simple  case of   “mistaken identity” disastrous, for a stock market investor.

Before you trade the stock market, you should understand that there is more than just one stock market exchange, the NYSE and the NASDAQ are but two.

Traditionally each exchange used different symbols, and it was once easy to tell which exchange a company was being traded on, at a glance.

However, like telephone numbers, companies now take their monikers along with them to whichever exchange they are listed for trade.

This means that you can see a listing for a stock traded on more than one exchange at different prices, (something else to keep in mind when developing a stock market strategy as a day trader).

Some monikers are easy, as with the case of EBay’s stock, which is listed under EBAY.

This makes it very easy for a day trader to remember. Others like General Motors make it difficult for a stock market investor. General Motors is traded under two seemingly separate monikers however they are essentially two separate companies.

One moniker, represents the old bankrupt General Motors (now Motors Liquidation Co), it is listed as MTLQQ. The “new” General Motors is listed today simply as GM.

Both the old and new General Motors stocks represent different kinds of risks, as they are essentially not the same corporation. Therefore, a different stock market analysis  and strategy  needs to be applied to each.

It’s interesting for those who trade the stock market to note that MTLQQ stock is generally regarded as useless as an investment, although, as a tax write-off it may have advantages for some stock market investors, when sold at loss.

The tax advantage however does not fully explain how shares of MTLQQ have fluctuated from as high as 60 cents, to well below 9 cents per share in the last six months.