What should i buy now for day trading

Screening Filters

1. Price: 5–80 USD

   • Purpose: Focus on stocks that are liquid and actively traded, but not penny stocks or extremely high-priced names.
   • Rationale:
     • Below $5 you often see penny stocks with wide spreads, low quality, and higher manipulation risk—risky and impractical for consistent day trading.
     • Above ~$80, position sizing becomes harder for smaller accounts and intraday percentage moves often translate into fewer tradable shares.
     • The $5–$80 band tends to capture many mid-priced, actively day-traded stocks where spreads, volatility, and liquidity are more favorable.

2. Relative Volume (relative_vol ≥ 1.8)

   • Purpose: Identify stocks trading at much higher volume than their recent average today.
   • Rationale:
     • Day traders need unusual activity—relative volume shows when today’s trading interest is significantly elevated.
     • A threshold of 1.8 means the stock is trading at least ~80% more volume than usual, which typically leads to tighter spreads and bigger intraday moves, both essential for day trading opportunities.

3. Monthly Average Dollar Volume (≥ 2,000,000 USD)

   • Purpose: Ensure there is enough dollar liquidity (price × volume) to enter and exit positions quickly without large slippage.
   • Rationale:
     • High dollar volume means many dollars are changing hands; this is more important than just share volume for intraday traders.
     • A $2M minimum weeds out thinly traded names where getting in or out can move the price against you and make executions unreliable.

4. Price Change % (Intraday: 3% to 15%)

   • Purpose: Target stocks already moving enough to be interesting, but not so extreme that they’re completely unstable or “blown out.”
   • Rationale:
     • Day traders need volatility; a move of at least 3% indicates there is real intraday action to trade.
     • Capping at 15% filters out the most extreme movers, which can be very erratic, news-shocked, or subject to halts—often too risky for many traders and harder to manage with stops and risk control.

5. Region: US

   • Purpose: Limit results to U.S.-listed stocks.
   • Rationale:
     • U.S. markets generally offer high liquidity, tight spreads, and robust regulation—ideal conditions for intraday trading.
     • It also aligns with standard U.S. market hours and infrastructure used by most day trading platforms and tools.

6. News Driver: Positive or Negative

   • Purpose: Focus on stocks moving because of a specific news catalyst (earnings, guidance, M&A, regulatory updates, major analyst calls, etc.).
   • Rationale:
     • Strong intraday trends and volume spikes are often driven by fresh news.
     • Including both positive and negative news captures trades in either direction (long on good news, short/put-based strategies on bad news), expanding the universe of actionable day-trading setups.

Why Results Match Your Day-Trading Goal

• They emphasize high liquidity and dollar volume, which are crucial so you can get in and out quickly with minimal slippage.
• They require elevated relative volume and meaningful price movement, giving you names that are in play today, not just quietly drifting.
• They filter for tradable price levels (not penny stocks, not extremely high-priced stocks), making position sizing and risk management more practical.
• They focus on news-driven moves, which often produce clear intraday trends and volatility—exactly what day traders look for when choosing what to trade today.