How to Find the Biggest Stock Gainers and Losers?
Many day traders look for stocks with big price movements-the day’s gainers and losers. These are stocks with big percentage gains. These stocks are a great starting point to explore and find trading opportunities. This blog post will break down why you should find stock market gainers and losers, possible strategies.
Why Find Stock Market Gainers and Losers
You can find stock market gainers and losers anytime of day-pre-market, intraday, or after hours. However, many day traders chose to focus on the pre-market and early intraday stock trading. Typically, these are shown as the stocks that have the biggest percentage increase in price during the time period selected. Many scanners show for the trading day.
These stocks with big percentage gains are a great way to create a daily watchlist so you can give them more attention. Once getting your list of the biggest gainers (and/or losers!), you’ll want to do further research, especially taking a good look at the volume. Analysis will help you determine whether you should buy, sell, or even short the stock, if that is part of your trading strategy.
These big gainers and losers can indicate a stock’s movement and the overall market or sector sentiment. As a day trader, the biggest gainers and losers could be a big opportunity to capture volatility and short-term price movement. As mentioned before, market movers are just one indicator for finding a stock to trade. When you find a stock you’re interested in, make sure to do more research, look at other indicators, and look at the context of the gainer or loser. Is the movement caused by an unknown reason or a news event?
What to Do Next
Once you find a big market mover and check for movement context, you’ll want to check the volume to make sure the stock has high liquidity so you can get in and out of a day trade quickly. After that, you may want to look at moving averages (such as a 30 day moving average) to confirm that the stock is a potential trade. You can also look at the chart to see if there is a chart pattern you use in your trading strategy.
The theory behind this strategy is that more people are looking at the biggest gainers and losers, meaning it’s more likely to be in higher demand, causing the price to go up even further.
Additionally, if the biggest gainers and losers are in a certain industry or sector, you can identify trends that may affect the group as a whole so you focus on (or avoid!) the group.
Originally published at https://pro.benzinga.com on May 28, 2020.