How to Find Day Trading Stocks Making Big Moves Today

Day traders make money by trading stocks that move a lot during the day, not just because of overnight price gaps. Here’s how to find stocks that are making big moves after the market opens.

Why This Matters

When I first started day trading in 2005, I used to look at lists of top gainers and losers on financial websites. But often, these stocks had already made their big moves before the market opened, so there was nothing left to trade. I needed a way to find stocks that were moving a lot after the market opened, when I could actually trade them.

Using TradingView to Find Moving Stocks

TradingView is a great tool for this. Here’s how to use it:

1. Open the Stock Screener: Go to TradingView and click the bullseye icon in the bottom right corner to open the stock screener.

2. Create a New Screen: At the top, click “Create New Screen” and name it something like “Day Trading Stocks.”

3. Set the Criteria: Add criteria like volume, price change, and other factors that matter to you. You can adjust these to fit your trading style.

   day trading stocks in play scanning criteria

4. Check Pre-Market and Intraday Moves: Use the “Extended Hours” view to see which stocks are moving before the market opens and after it opens. Focus on stocks that have big price changes after the open.

5. Adjust the Screen Size: You can make the screener window bigger or smaller by dragging its edge.

6. Switch Between Data and Charts: You can toggle between seeing just data or looking at charts for the stocks.

Using Finviz Elite

Finviz Elite is another option, though it costs about $25/month for real-time data. Here’s how to use it:

1. Set the Criteria: Choose criteria like current volume, price range, and average volume. Increase the current volume as the day goes on to keep the list manageable.

2. Focus on Relative Volume: Only show stocks with more than 1.5 times their usual volume. This helps filter out low-volume stocks.

3. Sort by Change from Open: This is more important than change from the previous close, since day traders only care about movement during the trading day.

4. Adjust for More Precision: If the list is too long, increase the current volume or relative volume to narrow it down.

   

What to Focus On

• Top and Bottom Movers: Look at stocks with the biggest price changes since the open. These are the ones making the most movement.

• Stocks Moving Up or Down the List: If a stock is moving quickly up or down the list, it’s likely making big moves.

• Keep the List Short: A shorter list makes it easier to find good trading opportunities.

Conclusion

This method helps you find stocks that are actively moving during the trading day, which is what day traders need. It’s better than just looking at lists of top gainers or losers, which might not be moving much after the open. By focusing on stocks that are moving right now, you can find better trading opportunities.