Day trading stocks

Screening Filters

1. Price: 5 – 80 USD

   • Purpose: Focus on reasonably priced, actively traded stocks and avoid extremes.
   • Rationale:
     • Stocks under $5 are often penny stocks: more prone to manipulation, wider spreads, and unreliable intraday liquidity.
     • Very high-priced stocks (hundreds or thousands of dollars) can be harder to trade actively for small and medium accounts and may move in smaller % swings intraday.
     • The $5–$80 band is a common “sweet spot” for day traders: enough volatility and volume, but not excessively risky microcaps.

2. Monthly Average Dollar Volume: ≥ $2,000,000

   • Purpose: Ensure strong liquidity so you can enter and exit quickly.
   • Rationale:
     • Dollar volume = price × volume; using dollar volume instead of just share volume helps capture true trading activity.
     • A minimum of $2M per day (on average across the month) filters for stocks where there is enough money flowing to support intraday trading with tighter spreads and less slippage.

3. Relative Volume (relative_vol): ≥ 2

   • Purpose: Highlight stocks that are trading at least twice their normal volume today.
   • Rationale:
     • Relative volume > 2 means current activity is 2x the average, signaling unusual interest (news, catalysts, sentiment shifts).
     • High relative volume typically leads to better intraday movement and more reliable follow-through on intraday setups, which is what day traders need.

4. Price Change % (price_change_pct): ≥ 5% (on the day)

   • Purpose: Focus on stocks that are actually moving today.
   • Rationale:
     • A daily move of at least +5% indicates elevated volatility and momentum.
     • Day trading strategies depend on price movement; flat or slow-moving stocks won’t provide good risk/reward or enough opportunity within the day.

5. Region: United States

   • Purpose: Limit to a single, highly liquid market with consistent regulation and trading hours.
   • Rationale:
     • U.S. markets are among the deepest and most liquid, very suitable for day trading.
     • Focusing on one region also simplifies timing (same market hours) and news flow.

6. List Exchange: XNYS (NYSE), XNAS (NASDAQ), XASE (AMEX)

   • Purpose: Restrict to major U.S. exchanges.
   • Rationale:
     • These exchanges have higher listing standards, better liquidity, and more reliable data than OTC or Pink Sheets.
     • Day traders typically prefer NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX names because of tighter spreads, better fills, and fewer trading halts due to poor quality.

Why Results Match “Day Trading Stocks”

• The screen focuses on liquid names (dollar volume filter + major exchanges) where you can realistically get in and out intraday.
• It emphasizes active, moving stocks for today (relative volume ≥ 2 and price change ≥ 5%), which is key for day trading opportunities.
• It avoids the riskiest, thinly traded microcaps and extremely high-priced stocks, targeting a practical, tradeable universe suited to intraday strategies.