Best day trade stocks today

Screening Filters

1. Price: 5 – 80 USD

   • Purpose: Focus on tradable, reasonably priced stocks suitable for active day trading.
   • Rationale:
     • Below ~$5, you often get into very illiquid, highly risky penny stocks with big spreads and unreliable moves.
     • Above ~$80, the dollar moves can be large but position sizing becomes harder for many day traders and % moves are often smaller.
     • This range tends to capture stocks with enough volatility and accessibility (you can buy adequate share size without huge capital).

2. Monthly Average Dollar Volume ≥ 1,000,000 USD

   • Purpose: Ensure high liquidity so you can get in and out quickly with minimal slippage.
   • Rationale:
     • Dollar volume = price × shares traded. A minimum of $1M/day on average helps filter out thinly traded names that can be hard to enter/exit.
     • For day trading, liquidity is critical: tight spreads and depth in the order book reduce trading costs and execution risk.

3. Relative Volume (Today) ≥ 2

   • Purpose: Find stocks that are “in play” today, trading at least twice their normal volume.
   • Rationale:
     • Relative volume of 2 means today’s activity is 2× the average, often due to news, earnings, upgrades/downgrades, or other catalysts.
     • Elevated volume typically brings better price action and cleaner intraday moves—what day traders want.

4. Moving Average Relationship: Price Above 5-Period Moving Average (PriceAboveMA5)

   • Purpose: Capture stocks with short-term upward momentum intraday.
   • Rationale:
     • A 5-period moving average on an intraday basis is very short-term; price above it signals immediate bullish bias.
     • For day trading long setups, this helps filter to names already showing strength rather than fighting the short-term trend.

5. Last 5-Minute Price Change ≥ +0.5% (min5_price_change_pct ≥ 0.5)

   • Purpose: Ensure the stock is actively moving right now, not just earlier in the day.
   • Rationale:
     • A ≥0.5% move in the last 5 minutes indicates fresh momentum and volatility in the very recent window.
     • This is important for short-term traders who want current action, not stale moves that have already faded.

Why Results Match “Best Day Trade Stocks Today”

• The liquidity filters (price range and dollar volume) target names that are realistically tradable with tight spreads and decent size.
• The activity and volatility filters (relative volume ≥ 2 and 5-minute price move ≥ 0.5%) focus on stocks that are moving today and moving right now, which is key for intraday opportunities.
• The momentum filter (price above 5-period moving average) aligns results with stocks showing very short-term strength, consistent with typical day-trade breakout/pullback strategies.

Together, these filters narrow the universe to liquid, active, and currently trending stocks—exactly the kind of candidates day traders usually look for on a given trading day.