To that point, during the pandemic there have been stark winners and losers. 'But they are just as likely, maybe more likely, to suffer big losses.' 'People are obviously attracted by the promise of big gains,' Roper said. In addition, he said, people are doing things they normally wouldn't because of all the additional time they have on their hands.Īnother reason? 'There are a lot of ads on day-trading for beginners,' wrote Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America, in an email.īut trying to make a profit by buying and selling individual companies over a short period of time can backfire, financial experts say. Millions of unemployed Americans 'feel it is a method they can use to replace the lost income,' he said. Lawrence Sprung, a certified financial planner and president of Mitlin Financial, based in Hauppauge, New York, believes day trading is up for a few different reasons. TD Ameritrade reports that visits to its website giving instructions on trading stocks have nearly quadrupled since January. Meanwhile, trading apps like Robinhood are seeing a surge in business. Activity has 'increased dramatically' in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 2019, according to data analyzed by Cerulli Associates. Day trading has become very popular worldwide since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.