Stocks good for short term day trade

Screening Filters

1. Price: min = 2, max = 200

   • Purpose: Focus on stocks that are reasonably priced for active trading, while avoiding ultra-low-priced penny stocks and extremely high-priced names that may be capital-intensive to trade.
   • Rationale:
     • Below $2: Often illiquid, wider spreads, more prone to manipulation—less ideal for consistent day trading.
     • Above $200: Require more capital per share, which can limit position sizing flexibility and make intraday risk management harder for many traders.
     • The $2–$200 range is a practical sweet spot where you typically find enough volatility and liquidity without extreme capital requirements.

2. Beta: ['ModerateRisk', 'HighRisk']

   • Purpose: Target stocks that move more than (or at least meaningfully with) the overall market, which is crucial for intraday trading opportunities.
   • Rationale:
     • Moderate to high beta implies higher price movement relative to the index, which day traders need to capture intraday gains.
     • Very low beta stocks (defensive, sleepy names) often don’t move enough intraday to make day trading worthwhile once commissions, spreads, and slippage are considered.

3. Monthly Average Dollar Volume: min = 500,000

   • Purpose: Ensure a baseline level of liquidity, so traders can enter and exit positions quickly without significantly moving the price.
   • Rationale:
     • Using dollar volume (price × volume) is more relevant for traders than share volume alone, because it captures how much money actually flows through the stock.
     • A minimum of $500k/month helps filter out very thinly traded names where spreads can be large and orders may not get filled efficiently—major drawbacks for day trading strategies.

4. Region: ['United States']

   • Purpose: Limit results to US-listed companies, matching the user’s request for the US stock market.
   • Rationale:
     • Ensures the stocks trade in the US time zone, under US market rules, with familiar reporting standards and generally better data access and liquidity for many retail traders.

5. List Exchange: ['XNYS', 'XNAS', 'XASE'] (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX)

   • Purpose: Restrict to the main US exchanges that are most actively traded and well-regulated.
   • Rationale:
     • NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX typically have higher quality listings, tighter spreads, better market depth, and more consistent liquidity—key for day trading.
     • Excludes most OTC/pink-sheet names, which can be riskier, less liquid, and more prone to erratic behavior unsuitable for systematic day trading.

6. Is Optionable: True

   • Purpose: Select stocks that also have listed options, which is usually a sign of institutional interest and robust liquidity.
   • Rationale:
     • Optionable stocks tend to be more actively followed and traded, which supports tighter spreads and more consistent intraday volume.
     • Even if you don’t trade options, optionability is a good proxy for market interest and liquidity, often aligning with stocks suitable for active day trading strategies.

Why Results Match Your Day-Trading Focus

• The price range and beta filter aim to find stocks with enough movement and tradability for intraday setups without going into the riskiest micro-penny territory.
• The dollar volume, major US exchanges, and optionable-only filters collectively prioritize liquidity, tighter spreads, and institutional interest, which are all crucial for efficient entries and exits in short-term day trading.
• The US region and US exchanges ensure that all candidates align with your target market (US stock market) and its trading hours and infrastructure.

Together, these filters narrow the universe to stocks that are more likely to have the volatility, liquidity, and market quality that short-term US day traders typically look for.