How To Pick Stocks To Day Trade

Check out this video to see the best stock to day trade on May 2, 2012, AEO. Then visit bestdaytradingstocks.com to learn more about picking the best stocks to day trade! http://youtu.be/i6Ok80_g39s

Best Daytrading Stocks

The best stocks to day trade on Monday, April 2nd are...

GAME
QIHU
FAS
SGI
TSL
EXEL
IRE

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Best Daytrading Stocks - Commentary for March 6, 2012

Today was a true selling day in the stock market coming on the heels of some suspect price action over the last couple weeks. It appears that for now, the easier money may be made by day traders who focus on shorting opportunities. Keep in mind, this can all change on a dime, and it is always good to pay attention to the tape during the trading day.

Later this week we have an all important employment report, which could put the market back on firmer footing. However, a weak report will likely lead to significantly more selling pressure.

Stay tuned!
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Top Daytrading Stocks - January 31, 2012

Once again, the stock market shrugged off early morning jitters to essentially close unchanged today. This pattern has been repeating itself quite a bit in recent weeks, and this has allowed day traders to hop on board strong stocks when the tape improves. Today's best stock to day trade, based upon our proprietary selection criteria, was Westport Innovations (WPRT). Check out the chart below. This was a stock where our strategy results in a gain of up to $2 per share.



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Top Stock To Day Trade - January 25, 2012

The best stock to day trade today was hands down CLR. Today was a great day to pay attention to the tape. The overall market was weak, in spite of the strength in Apple after reporting earnings yesterday. CLR was another stock that gapped up at the open, and when the overall market got its act together, this stock took off. Check out the chart below.



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Top Day Trading Stock - January 24, 2012

The stock market didn't do a whole lot today, but there were some nice movers for day traders to make some decent profits. At Best Daytrading Stocks, we like to focus on the stocks that are outperforming the rest of the market. IDIX is one of these stocks, and today it was set up nicely for a sizable move. You can see the intraday chart of this stock below. We like applying an opening range breakout strategy and holding the position into the close as long as the trade stays profitable all day.



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Top Day Trading Stock of the day

While the overall stock market went nowhere today, there were some good day trading opportunities. The best stock to day trade today, though, based on how we like to trade, was Noble Energy (NBL). This is a classic opening range breakout stock that never looked back.



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Best Stock To Day Trade - January 18, 2012

Have a look at this video about today's top day trading stock.


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Best Daytrading Stock - January 3, 2012

U.S. Stocks opened strongly to start the new trading year, but failed to build onto these gains, and closed a bit off the highs. As a result, the best performing daytrading stocks were highly focused in the oil and gas industry due to the strength in energy prices today, as crude oil closed up over $3 per barrel.

There were a number of stocks with gains in the 8 to 10% range today. Based upon our basic daytrading strategy, the one candidate that stood out is Nabors Industries, which closed with a nearly 10% gain. The intraday chart of this stock may be seen below. Our strategy would provide you with a gain of about $1 per share....not bad for a stock priced under $20!



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Day Trading Tips For The New Year

2011 is behind us, so it is time to renew our energy and focus on the new year! Here are a few tips to jumpstart your daytrading profits.

1. Pay close attention to intermediate term stock market trends. If you can stay on the right side of the market with your day trades, you will be more profitable. This all starts with identifying the current trend in the market.

2. Learn how to read the tape. When you can stay on the right side of the tape, and trade in the direction that the big money is flowing, you will put the odds more in your favor.

3. Don't trade just to trade, or just for the action. Most traders I know are amateurs, and they trade for the thrill of trading. Learn how to treat day trading as a business, don't get emotional, and you will become a better trader.

4. Stick with volatile stocks with decent volume. It makes no sense trying to scalp a few pennies in Microsoft when you can hop on board a fast mover and grab a few dollars!

5. Set goals. You should set goals regarding the success of your trading business. If you are relatively new to trading, you should simply strive for being profitable every month. Most traders are not close to being profitable each month, or at all for that matter.

6. Develop your trading plan and stick to it! Many traders are always changing strategies, looking for the holy grail. There isn't one. So develop a basic and sound strategy and stick with it!

Going forward I will be presenting a lot more tips and thoughts to help your day trading success, so keep stopping by!

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stock Market Commentary - Correction Has Begun

U.S. stocks posted a follow through day to the downside yesterday, effectively ending the rally that began late last summer. In order to offset this price action, a huge upside day will be required. What could be the catalyst for that? A big number in this week's employment report. This morning, the ADP gives the first glimpse at Friday's employment report, but it has not been a very reliable indicator of the government number in recent months.

If the number is over 300,000 new jobs on Friday, I suspect there could be a spike. At the same time, that may also indicate that the Fed must stop QE2 sooner rather than later, which would spook the market. A perfect number might be in the 150K to 200K range.

Stay tuned!

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stock Market Commentary

Yesterday was a true selling day for the market, with all of the averages down at least 1.5%. The reasons for the decline are of no matter. It is simply a warning shot that the market is due for a correction. I found it interesting that the futures pointed to a rebound early this morning, but slowly declined into the open, and now the market is down as I write this about 11 am. If there is follow through today, then yesterday's action suggests a correction is at hand. If another true selling day occurs within the next week, then the easier money will likely be made on the short side. For now, it is a good idea to consider both long and short trades when daytrading to hedge your bets.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stock Market Commentary

Yesterday's trading action suggests a short term top may now be in place for the market. With the exception of the Dow Jones Industrials, all of the major averages were down at least 1%. Also, yesterday's close was below the previous four closes. When that occurs the day after a new high is made, odds are that a top is in place in the near term.

Daytraders should pay attention to a potential change in character for this market. While yesterday is just one trading day, if it's action is not reversed in the next few days, then the market is likely heading for a bit of a correction. As a result, the best opportunities will involve short positions or long positions within ETFs that short the market.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Weekly Stock Market Commentary

U.S. Stocks continued their march upward this week as the S&P 500 closed with a 1.1% gain on the week. Historically, as far as records have been kept, a 1% up move in the first week of the year has a 100% correlation to the market ending the year with a gain. This is according to CNBC. Of course, this is utterly worthless information. However, since this is also the third year in the presidential cycle, odds are in favor of a positive year as well.

In any event, all this suggests is that the current trend is up, and for daytraders, it makes most sense to stay on the side of the trend. I've seen over and over again in recent weeks how the market opens lower and closes higher than the open. Even if it is just a small gain or a small loss, the short sellers are getting grinded to death. At some point there will be a correction, however, at this point, it is not yet on the horizon.

One of the big trades on Friday was RBN. This is the kind of move that many daytraders miss. The stock gapped significantly at the open, and many daytraders simply like to fade this kind of gap. However, a more experienced trader would look at the daily chart and see a favorable set up for a big up move.

After the stock gapped higher, it moved significantly in the first five minutes. It is virtually impossible to try and scalp such a move. In fact, it would be foolish, because you would be leaving a lot on the table. Better daytraders and short term traders would look for a bigger move.

Based on our strategy, an entry point would have been somewhere just under $40. The stock closed at $41.18. The chart is below

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stocks Trade Modestly Higher in Sluggish Trade

U.S. Stocks closed with modest gains in light trade on Monday as trading shifts to earnings reports. With little economic news over the weekend and during trading today, stocks traded within a narrow trading range, and it appears the market may have tired out a bit after last week's big gains.

Among the big industry performers today were semiconductors, music and video stores, lumber and auto makers.

Low priced stocks were again among the big percentage movers of the day. The exception was Hewitt (HEW) which was up 32% on reports that Aon put in a bid to buy the company. Playboy stock was a big winner today as well. Otherwise, most stocks we look at for daytrading did not move much today. Given that the market has traded up for five consecutive sessions and that the overall trend is still down, we should see some decent daytrades involving short selling over the next couple days.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stocks Explode to the Upside

U.S. Stocks posted very strong gains today, with no particular reason for the move. Volume was slightly ahead of yesterday, and therefore I give this move some credibility. Stocks rose about 3% across the board today in the major market averages.

Stock index futures were initially suggesting a lower open, but as the market progressed, leading up to the open, they picked up some steam, and the train seemed to gain significant momentum throughout the day. This is the kind of trading day that suggests the possibility of a change in character for the market.

A check of the leading industry groups today indicates that real estate was the big winner on the day. Five of the top twenty groups were real estate related. Other strong performers included banks, technology and casinos.

Going forward, the market still has a big hill to climb to negate the recent downside breakout completely. If the market can push to a close above 1131 on the S&P, then you have a head and shoulders continuation pattern, which is bullish. Ultimately though, I still see a trading range market, but the range just got a bit wider.

Retail sales will be reported tomorrow for June, and that could put a damper on the market. An upside surprise will add to today's momentum.

For daytraders, the pickins could not have been easier. Opening range breakout systems worked beautifully during this move to the upside, since there was not a major upside gap in the major averages. The single best stock from the standpoint of its move for the day, and its volume was Omnivision Technologies. It rose over 11% on the day, and is a nice liquid stock. Check out the chart below.




Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Daytrading Stocks in a Bear Market

Since the stock market has traded significantly downward over the last month, it appears that another bear market may be underway. While the prevailing Wall Street definition of a bear market is a 20% drop below recent highs, the average bear market tends to drop quite a bit more than that. As of this writing, the S&P 500 has dropped over 14% below its April 23 closing high of 1217.

Daytrading stocks during market declines can prove to be quite the challenge for day traders no matter how much experience they have. This is due to the fact that market volatility has a tendency to increase during most market declines, whether they are short term corrections or the typical bear market. This increase in volatility can wipe out the trading capital of even the experienced trader if they do not adjust their trading.

Generally speaking, after large run-ups in stock prices, or in any market, there will be violent pull-backs. While this increase in volatility can produce some big directional moves, there may be sizable intraday swings that can catch a trader off guard.

So, how does a daytrader prepare for these conditions? Well, most daytraders are not in the business of forecasting market direction, but it can be very helpful to pay attention to some technical and psychological indicators that may provide a clue regarding market direction. Those indicators include price and volume, the TRIN, New 52 week highs and lows, the advance/decline line, the number of bullish vs. bearish investors, etc. A more detailed discussion regarding these indicators is more suitable for another article.

When a daytrader becomes aware that the market character has changed to a bearish tone, then it is time to adjust their thinking when it comes to managing trades. First of all, due to the usual increase in market volatility, the trader should scale back position size. While it may have been reasonable to trade 1,000 shares in a stock during a bull move, 500 shares might be more reasonable in a bear move. The novice trader will think that they are giving up a significant profit opportunity by trading smaller during these sharp down moves. The experienced trader realizes that it is more important to preserve capital for time periods when the market is more predictable and less volatile.

One other issue facing daytraders during these bear markets is that the market has a tendency to have sharp intraday reversals, and there tends to be more sizable opening gaps. As some daytraders actually do carry positions over night, it is a good idea to carry smaller positions over night due to the greater risk of a market reversal.

The daytrader should also be aware that the overall long term market tendency is for stocks to trade higher each day. Therefore, even when the market is in a downtrend, a great many trading days will actually have a tendency to close to the upside. During the current down move, nearly 40% of the trading days have closed to the upside. If a daytrader can recognize that even bear markets will pause for a breather, they will recognize significant opportunities to profit after these brief pauses when the market resumes its downtrend.

Daytraders should also consider trading other vehicles besides individual stocks during bear markets. This is due to the fact that it costs the trader extra to short a stock, since they must first borrow the shares from their broker, and pay interest on those shares, in order to sell the stock short. Therefore, daytraders should consider trading stock index futures, or ETFs that rise when the market falls. It is important that traders consider the cost of their trades, not just whether they make a profit or loss.

While it is definitely possible to trade profitably during bear markets, there are significant pitfalls. For many novice daytraders, it may just be a good idea to sit on the sidelines and observe the market action so that they are prepared for the next bear market downturn when it comes along.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stocks Get Hammered as Economic Worries Mount

U.S. Stocks fell sharply today as traders worried about the prospects of a double dip recession. The major averages closed anywhere from down 2.65% for the Dow Industrials to over 4% for the Dow Transports. Tech stocks really took it on the chin. The charts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq averages look quite ominous, with large breakaway gaps appearing, and the lows of the day penetrating the June and February lows on the S&P 500. In fact, the S&P closed at its lowest level since last November.

This says to me that we have broken out to the downside. In all the other cases where the S&P tested the 1040 area this year, it actually closed above 1060 each time. Today, it closed at 1041 after trading as low as 1035. As such, the neckline is broken in my view, and the next major support area is 950. The only thing that can turn this around is a major upside surprise in the jobs data this week. If it comes in weak, look out below.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Stocks To Open Sharply Lower Tuesday

U.S. Stocks are set to open significantly lower Tuesday morning after China reported slower economic growth than previously estimated. Dow Jones Industrial futures are lower by over 110 points as of 8:45 ET, while S&P 500 futures are lower by 14. This equates to 1% losses across the board.

China has been one of the bright spots in the global economy in the last year, but its stock market has plunged sharply, suggesting that the Chinese economy is set for a more significant slowdown. This would put a big dent in the global economic recovery prospects.

For daytraders, this lower open will signify a breakout from the trading range of the last two trading days. This could imply a significant move to the downside, so the easier money should be made on short positions.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com

Bad Day for Stocks

U.S. Stocks closed sharply lower today after a modest open to the upside. The culprit? Likely the existing home sales data that came out this morning, showing a 2.2% drop in sales in May. This was a bad number because there should have been a surge in sales from the contracts signed in March and April as the tax credit was set to expire. So, an actual drop in sales suggests that the real estate market is still soft. What a surprise! With no jobs being created, how would we expect a significant bounce in the market? The fact is, more declines are likely until this economy really starts to turn around.

Anyhow, the major averages lost anywhere from 0.8% in the case of the Nasdaq 100 to nearly 4% for the Dow Transports. Another culprit again was the Euro, which declined again, but not nearly as much as yesterday.

One big concern among technical analysts is that there is a big head and shoulders top forming on all of the major averages. Some technicians will try to forecast the move if the neck line is broken to the downside as the distance between the neck line and the top of the head. For the S&P 500, this would take the market down under 900. For the Dow Industrials, down to about 8,000.

You can bet that a decline of that magnitude will be forecasting higher unemployment and a double dip recession ahead. However, I am not convinced that we will see that kind of a drop in the market. While I remain cautious, if not bearish, I think the Democrats will do everything in their power to try and fend off a double dip recession to save their asses in November.

On another note, I mentioned yesterday that I did not generally like the overall action in Apple yesterday. Today, however, it bucked the overall market trend and closed higher, although it has formed an inside day on its chart. Keep an eye on Apple...if it fails up here, you can bet the overall market is in trouble.

Scott Cole
www.bestdaytradingstocks.com