Start Your Morning With Stock Screeners!
It's been said, and I agree with this, that you don't have to be the best trader if you know how to pick “the right stocks' '. What does that mean? It means you need to know what stocks are in play and why. It’s important that you know that if you’re going to trade you’ll need volatility. Not all stocks are going to be volatile. That’s why you need to have a scanner that will scrub the market for you to find volatile stocks that are in play! Selecting good stocks isn't easy. The sheer volume of companies that
are out there are in the thousands.
It’s a very noisy environment if you don't know what you’re looking for. That can add to a level of risk. In fact, it's hard to sort out the useful information from all the worthless data. Fortunately, a stock screener can help you focus on the stocks that meet your standards and suit your strategy. Scanning the market for opportunities that fit your strategy is ALWAYS the first step!
Stock screeners are effective filters when you have a specific idea or detailed parameters you’re looking for. This helps zero in on ONLY set ups that present “potentially higher probabilities”. There are thousands of stocks listed on exchanges in the United States alone; it's just not feasible to track all of them on your own. That will lead to your brain turning to shit, which will then lead to a total meltdown. A stock screener limits exposure to only those stocks that meet your unique parameters.
This Is How Scanners Work…
Day traders generally use stock screeners to help them choose which stocks deserve their attention from the thousands available on global exchanges. You can use these same tools to help you make better decisions about the stocks in which you invest your money. Scanners will cut out the noise and help you find the volatile stocks that present the best set ups. Once you have located an opportunity it then comes down to sitting tight to see if that opportunity then becomes a viable setup to trade…keep in mind lots of great premarket setups fail. Stay open minded and don’t get married to the idea of putting capital to work. It’s like I always say: “I need a reason to put capital to work. The markets need to proven themselves to me and my money”
Screener Options
There are some free resources out there that you can use. In my opinion they’re not great! They’re FREE, sure, but not great. I personally have developed a few proprietary scans through my TC2000 account as well as through my actual brokerage account. I pay a fee for both…but the way I see it is they’re both great and a cost of doing business. Just like trading commissions!
You Must Know What You’re Looking For!
The big challenge with using screeners is knowing what criteria to use for your search. The hundreds of variables make the possibilities for different combinations nearly endless. With that said, the best thing you can do is back test your strategy, look for the moment things move and create a scan that will look for those same opportunities BEFORE they happen! It’s also good to look at Market Movers and Market Losers
Screeners are extremely flexible, which is good but can be bad if you don't have something specific you’re looking for. To help traders, some sites have predefined stock screens, which have their variables already entered….again, that's helpful but not developed with your trading style in mind.
But if you're willing to shell out a few dollars, like I do for both my brokerage and TC2000, most come with premium options that can cut out the ads. Many of the paid subscriptions come with better benefits like charts, real-time quotes, and email alerts…among other great features!
Not all of these screeners will necessarily know about news that affects certain companies. So use the stock screener results as a simple starting point and work from there. Know what you’re looking for BEFORE you run the scanner! You can use that information along with the screener results to make better, more-informed decisions about your trades. Please remember to stay flexible and don't look at marrying anything. Trading is about short term opportunities…nothing more!
Remember, stock screeners are not the magic pill for selecting stocks. Nothing will ever replace good old-fashioned nose-to-the-grindstone research. However, screens can be a good place to start your research process as they can save time and narrow your options down to a more manageable group.
We have some great scanning parameters in our Members area. We also have countless tutorials onsetting up charts with the scanners…We cover how to use the scanner. How to locate the most viable opportunities and how to trade them…Top to Bottom!
