Hello, I am in the process of developing my approach to trading and although I am sure that it is not innovative, I can not longer tell where I came up with this approach. I have read and done so much research that I am not sure if it is sound or not. I also realize that there is more to successful trading that what I can put on paper but I do believe that you have to develop your own approach and put it to a test in the trenches. Okay, so the first thing Iwould do is go to Tradingday.com and click on premarket gainers and pick the top 20 stocks (lets say under $15) and put them into a portfolio in Quote Tracker and ClearStation's Watch List. In QuoteTracker I click on the Research Tab and check each stock using Company Report and Trade Ideas Profile. Then I go to ClearStation and use their Three Point evaluation of each stock. I try to look for those from my list that may show signs of starting an up trend or just started to trend. During this pre-market period I continue to keep an eye for gainers @ Tradingday.com. Then my next step is to narrow my stock picks to one or two, depending on available funds and execute. The next step seems to be for me, the most difficult one because since I am selecting stocks that seem sound and trending, my entry point may be easier than my exit strategy. I guess what I would like to do is to ride a trend as far as I can using stop losses. This may be as short as minutes/days/weeks. Needless to say that my emotions/greed and money management will play a large role in my success. Am I dreaming or is this a feasible approach? So, that is my premise. So, please give me your perspectives/opinions/criticism/wisdom. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time
Vhehn and Illiquid , I guess you have been around this forum for a long time since you have made the assumption that I had some ridiculous motive for my post. I can understand your cynicism but perhaps you should err on the side of trying to help instead of unfounded remarks. But I guess that part of posting is accepting remarks such as the one you guys made. Thank you for your time
Well, from what I can tell Tradingday.com is a free site. People link to free sites here all of the time. Get a life you two.
Have you studied how these gapping stocks behave? Gaps are usually caused by earnings or other new information, and how it trades after gapping isn't related to the previous trend. A stock may move to close the gap, or it may break out. There is money to be made if you get on the right side, short or long.
Promagma, Yes, although not enough. I go back and look at what may have cause the gap up. Is playing a new trend triggered but a gap up not a sound strategy? My idea is to use stop loss exits and get out or ride the trend. Is this not doable? Thank You for your comments
I use tradingday.com everyday. I trade the biggest gaps, both up or down and I don't presume the direction. I let my indicators tell me that.
If you're looking at this strategy as a sideline, or something to add to your arsenal, then it sounds fine as a place to start because it has a logic to it. But I would not rely on it for big returns, as I see two problems. First, your selection criteria is not likely to net you many candidates. (Pre market gap up, moving into uptrend, etc.) Second, there is great risk avoidance in diversification. Very hard to consistently make solid returns over time by playing only one or two stocks on gap plays. One day you win, the next day you get wacked, etc.