New to trading and stock scanning

conquer1

Im new to trading and am trying to figure out how to scan for swing trades im still just trying to get used to chart and indicator analysis and checking my watch list daily but how exactly do you come up with a stock watch...what do you guys use to narrow down your searches of stocks im not looking for a magic answer i know i have to learn my own method im just looking for a starting point to point me in the right direction over 1 million in volume, unusual,activity beta ect?

markd

One approach is, trade the leading stocks in the leading industries in the leading sectors.

The Stockcharts Home page has a magnificent tool for finding these stocks.

Click on Market summary. You see a list of the sector SPDRs.

Set the time period for say, three months (explore the different options, but start there). The leading sector in that time frame comes out on top.

Click on the name of that sector. It shows the the "$DJUSxx" industries that belong to that sector. Again, the leading industry in that time frame comes out on top.

Click on the name of that industry. A list of stocks appears. The leading stock in that time frame is on top.

As of today 10/12/15, the leading stock in the leading industry in the leading sector is ARTNA.

You still have to evaluate the charts. ARTNA trades relatively low volume so maybe that's not the kind of stock you want. The second stock is AWK - trades over 1 million shares so that might be less risky.

Also, a tricky thing with leading stocks is whether the run is over. If there are big red bars at the top of an up leg, it might be over for a while, or quite a while.

Another thing is, the leading stocks will often be in an up leg (like ARTNA). Most of the time, you probably want to wait for a down leg to finish up before choosing whether to enter for the next up leg. That could be days, or a couple of weeks, or a month or so.

Don't ignore second and third ranked sectors. They might be fading after being number one, but they might also be moving on up. Again, apply the chart reading skills you are going to acquire to determine the difference. Also, see what's happening in shorter time frames, like a month - new leaders could be emerging there.

If you are up for a project, figure out how to put those stocks in the industry list into your own favorites list. Then you can annotate them with your own comments and follow their progress, and when you've decided on a trading method (say MACD crossover, or MA crossover) you can run scans against the favorites list.

conquer1

Thanks for the comment i will definitely use your suggestions

davemon

I appreciate the topic of this thread. Markd, I was able to access the information you cite via Sector Summary, but not Market Summary. Are the layers of data you refer to also normally available via Market Summary? I did not find a list of SPDRs under Sector Summary.

Thanks

markd

@davemon , sorry Dave, my bad. The drill down is under Sector Summary. You should find the sector SPDRs under both summaries, but you can drill down only in Sector Summary.

davemon

Thanks for the clarification and information.

Will

I look for stocks between about $18--$45 and are in a trading range for the last 2 months. Also trades daily between 400,000--3million shares daily. I trade either long or short. An example of a trading stock is RCII, with its ups and downs for the last 2 months. I like the Fast Stochastics Indicator. Today, the FS % K and FS % D were both above a 80 reading, with the K line turning down below the D line. At same time the Candlestick configuration was Bearish which bodes well for a decline for RCII--nothing great but maybe a 1 point price decline. If the stock is below the 50 days moving average that is another plus for a possible decline. I use the reverse approach when looking to buy stocks. Of course, nothing 100% accurate.

markd

Hi Will, I like that method. You might like to take a look at putting 10 day (two week) or 21 day (one month) price channels on the chart. The upper and lower channels on the 10 day, and the upper, lower and middle channels are pretty good price targets for that method (and/or entry confirmations). A 63 day channel gives fewer signals, but the rising mid channel touches can be good entries in conjunction with your K signals.

Will

Thanks Mark! I do use Keltner Channels and EMA Envelopes set at 20 days. I like the EMA Envelopes better than Keltner Channels.

raydel

Read any thing by Alex Elder before you start so you can learn how not to go broke. He has a free ebook for beginners that would have saved me a lot of time and money. Good luck!