Day trading in stocks is an interesting market to engage in for investors. Stock is basically capital raised by a company through the issuance and subscription of shares. Although stocks and equities are considered long-term investments, stock trading can still offer opportunities for day traders with the right strategy. The ability to short prices, or trade on company news and events, means that short-term trading can still be profitable.

This page will advise you on stocks to look for when targeting a short term position to buy or sell. It will also offer you some invaluable rules for day trading stocks to follow. You will learn how to pick stocks and when to trade them, as well as some smart trading strategies that can help you make a profit.

See the best stocks to day trade, based on volume and volatility – key metrics for day trading any market.

Why Day Trade Stocks?

Trading stocks today is dynamic and exciting. In addition, they are easy to buy and sell. With the world of technology, the market is easily accessible. Liquidity in the market means that speculation about prices going up or down in the short term is really viable.

Also, stocks are relatively easy to understand and follow.

Although day trading in the technical world of cryptography or forex may leave you scratching your head, you can overcome the success and potential pitfalls of Google and Facebook more easily.

This means that identifying which stocks are suitable for trading online will hopefully not be as challenging as in other markets.

 

Day Trading vs Stock Trading

Before starting day trading stocks, you should consider whether it is suitable for your situation.

For example, intraday transactions usually require at least a few hours each day. One of those hours will always be early morning when the market opens. Long-term stock investing, however, usually takes some time. This is because you have more flexibility when you do your research and analysis.

In addition, the returns of daily trading stocks can exceed long-term investments. This is partly due to leverage. This allows you to borrow money to take advantage of opportunities (trading on margin). However, with increased profit potential also comes greater risk of loss. Additionally, you will also invest more time into day trading for those returns.

You could also argue that short-term trading is more difficult unless you focus on day trading one stock only. This is because interpreting stock indicators and spotting gaps in the long run is much easier. You also don’t need to rush into making a decision. However, this also means that intraday trading can provide a more attractive environment in which to work.

One major advantage of CFDs and spread betting over traditional equity investments is the ability to ”  go short  “. There is no easy way to make money in a falling market using traditional methods. Day traders, however, can trade regardless of whether they think the value will go up or down.

Overall, there is no right answer in terms of day trading vs long term stocks. Spotting trends and growth stocks in some ways may be easier when investing long-term. Having said that, intraday trading may bring you higher returns.

Trading Platform

The trading platform you use for your online trading will be a major decision. Do you need an advanced chart? Can you automate your trading strategy? Can you trade the right markets, like ETFs or Forex?

There are several important decisions to make when choosing a trading platform or stock broker, and a lot depends on you and your trading style. Read more about choosing a stock broker here.

How To Trade Stocks

The best day trading stocks to buy give you an opportunity through price movements and many traded stocks. This will allow you to get in and out of those opportunities quickly. These factors are known as volatility and volume. You might be thinking ‘  I’ve heard the stock and volume traded flat the previous day, but what does that mean? 

Trade volume

Trading volume refers only to the total number of shares traded in a security or market during a given period. Each transaction contributes to the total. If only twenty transactions were made that day, the total for the day would be twenty.

How is it used by day traders to get their stocks picked? Trading volume acts as an indicator that gives weight to market moves. If there is a sudden rise, the strength of the move depends on the volume during that period.

In short, the larger the number, the more important the step.

Using volume

If you have a large capital behind you, you need a large amount of stock. While your brokerage account will probably give you a list of the top 20-25 stocks, one of the best stock trading tips today is to expand your search a little wider.

That way, you can find opportunities that aren’t on every other trader’s radar. Look for stocks with surge numbers. If a stock normally trades 2.5 million shares per day, but you notice it has sold 6 million shares at 10am, then this is worth exploring. If your platform of choice fails to offer a rigorous screener for high-volume stocks, use these alternatives:

  • Bar chart
  • That road
  • Yahoo Finance Incredible Volume

Volatility

Volatility is concerned with the amount of risk / unpredictability in the size of changes in the security’s value. If it has high volatility the value can be spread into a large range of values. This means that the price of a security can change drastically in a short time, making it ideal for fast-moving day traders.

Whereas if it has low volatility, the value of the security will remain stable, offering less opportunity for quick profits.

Beta

One way to determine the volatility of a particular stock is to use  beta  . Beta predicts the total volatility of a security’s return against the return of an appropriate benchmark (usually the S&P 500).

A stock with a beta value of 1.2 has moved about 120% for every 100% in the benchmark, depending on the price level. On the other hand, a stock with a beta of only .8 has moved 80% for every 100% in the benchmark index.

How to Find Stocks to Day Trade

Therefore, finding the best stocks for day trading is a matter of finding assets with large volumes, or or recent volume increases, and betas higher than 1.0 (The higher the better). A stock lacking in this will be very difficult to trade successfully.

How you use these factors will affect your profit potential, and depends on your strategy for day trading stocks. Profits from unchanged prices are impossible. Buyers and sellers make price movements, a lack of volume indicates a lack of buyers and sellers.

Defensive stocks, while typically associated with lower volatility, will suddenly be in demand if market panic causes flight to become a safer investment, so volume and volatility may not always show up in the obvious places.

Best Day Trading Stocks 2020

Now you have an idea of ​​what to look for in stock and where to find them. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular trading stock stocks. The most popular exchange traded fund (ETF) is the S&P 500 (SPY). Trading regularly over 100 million shares a day, the large volume allows you to trade both small and large positions, depending on volatility.

With volume being an important element in finding the top stocks for day trading, it’s no surprise that the US market is where the better stock picks can be found:

US stock

Best US Stocks To Day Trade
STOCK SYMBOL STRENGTH TRADE
Apple APPL Trade volume
Facebook FB Volume + Volatility
Microsoft MSFT Trade volume
Ford F Trade volume
Tesla TSLA Volatility
Google (Alphabet) GOOG Volume + Volatility
S and P US 500 Volume + Volatility

In Malaysia, stocks offering the highest volume offer the best trading opportunities today

Malaysian stocks

Best Malaysian Stocks For Day Trading
STOCK SYMBOL STRENGTH TRADE
Barclays BARC Volume + Volatility
Lloyds Bank LLOY Volume + Volatility
Vodafone VOD Trade volume
BP BP Trade volume

Malaysia often sees high beta (volatility) across sectors. Housebuilders for example, have all seen beta figures increase in recent years, fueled by concerns over Brexit. Mining companies, and related services, are another sector that could see big price swings, bigger than the wider FTSE market.

Alternative

However, apart from the popular options above, there are also several other popular exchanges worth considering, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

You can also start day trading Australian stocks, Chinese stocks, Japanese stocks, Canadian stocks, Indian stocks, as well as various European stocks.

Therefore, there are several stock indices and trading stock classes that you can learn about. Plus, you can find everything from cheap foreign stocks to expensive options. All the strategies and tips below can be used regardless of where you choose to day trade stocks.

Penny Stocks

”  Which penny stocks are best for day trading? “It is a popular question that we are facing. However, if you have read above that volume and volatility are the keys to successful day trading, you will understand that penny stocks are not the best choice for day traders. They are low volume (very little buying and selling) and this leads to a lack of volatility in the short term.

Volatility in penny stocks is often misleading because small price changes are large in percentage terms, but the truth is that most penny stocks end the day exactly where they started with no movement at all. It is impossible to profit from it.

Keep an eye on the volume of these stocks, as sudden spikes can translate into price movements. But low liquidity and trading volume mean penny stocks aren’t much of a choice for day trading.

Using leverage is one way to make trading stocks cheaper’ but make sure you understand the increased risk of leverage before using it.

Stocks To Trade Today

Now that we know volume and volatility are important, how does this help us find the best stocks to trade today? Well, the ‘Risers and Fallers’ table is a good way to find active markets. It means something is happening, and that creates an opportunity.

Most brokers will show you a table of active shares, whether they call it ‘Risers / Fallers’ or ‘Most Traded Shares’, they should all show you the most suitable opportunities for today’s stock trading.

When To Day Trade Stocks

Timing is everything in today’s trading game. If you don’t know the best time to trade, you may be struggling to day trade stocks for a living. With that in mind:

  • Start early – If you want to start your trade after lying, don’t be surprised when you struggle to make a profit. An increase in trading volume is seeing the market only get faster. You have to wake up at 8 am, prepare for the day ahead. This will give you time to research and configure your monitor with the stocks you will be actively tracking that day.
  • Keep it up – While yes, you will make more money if you trade all day, day traders see the best returns when they trade only 1-3 hours. You can make £750 in 2 hours and £1000 when you trade for 5 hours. So if you’re looking at day trading stocks for life, you might get the best hourly returns if you trade in short fractions.

Pattern

Pennants

Flags are often the first thing you see when you open a pdf graphic pattern. It is created only by significant stock movements and later consolidation. Converging lines bring marker shapes to life. You should see the breakout moves that occur alongside the big stock moves.

You will see huge volume when the stock initially starts to move. Finally, the volume in the pennant section will decrease and the total volume will increase.

Ascending Triangle

You will usually find a triangle appearing during an uptrend and is considered a continuation pattern. Less often it is created in response to a reversal at the end of a downtrend. Whenever they occur, an ascending triangle is a bullish pattern (when a black candlestick is followed by a large white candlestick that literally blows up the previous candlestick).

Descending Triangle

Although often a bearish pattern, a descending triangle is a continuation of a downtrend. Less often it can be observed as a reversal during an uptrend.

Cups & Holders

A quick glance at the chart and you can gauge how this pattern got its name. The cup is a nice curved ‘U’ shape and the angle of the handle is slightly downward. Usually, the right side of the chart shows low trading volume that can last for a long time.

 

Upper head & shoulders

Straight into place, the shape comes to life when the two trendlines converge. They gather at peaks and troughs. This line creates a clear obstacle. If the price breaks through you know to expect a sudden price move.

You will find different stock patterns for day trading in every pdf you open. Instead of using everyone you find, get really good at a few.

Strategy

The patterns above and the strategies below can be applied to everything from small and microcap stocks to Microsoft and Tesla stocks.

Heikin-Ashi

If you like candlestick trading strategies, you should like this touch. Skin candlestick chart tells you four numbers, open, close, high and low. But you use the information from the previous candle to create your Heikin-Ashi chart.

  • Close Price – Heikin-Ashi candles calculate the average across the open, close, low and high prices.
  • Open price – The candle will be the average of both the open and close of the previous candle.
  • High prices – The high prices you see in your Heikin-Ashi candles are selected from the highest values ​​of either the high, open and close prices.
  • Low price – This time the high price in the candle is selected from the high price, open and close, but this time the lowest value.

This chart is slower than average candlestick charts and delayed signals. This is part of its popularity because it is useful during volatile price strikes.

This strategy also makes use of momentum indicators. A simple stochastic oscillator with settings (14,7,3) should do the trick. If you see that two candles, either bearish or bullish, have completely completed on your daily chart, then you know the pattern is valid.

  • Simple setup – If after several green candles, the price creates two red candles in a row, the uptrend is over and a reversal is on the cards. Short positions should be used.
  • Long setup – If after a series of red candles, the price creates two green candles in a row, the downtrend is over and a possible reversal is possible. You should consider long positions.
  • Filters – You should also use other filters to prevent false signals and to improve performance.

These charts, patterns and strategies can prove useful when buying and selling traditional stocks. However, they may also be useful if you are interested in the lesser-known forms of stock trading discussed below.

Penny Stocks

Every day thousands of people turn on their computers hoping to day trade stocks online for a living. But what exactly are they? The Securities and Exchange Commission’ (SEC) defines a penny stock as a stock that costs $5 or less. However, the majority of the trading community agrees a ‘penny stock’ is any stock traded on an over the counter bulletin board (OTCBB) or pink sheet.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Benefits

To help you decide whether day trading on penny stocks is for you, consider the benefits and drawbacks listed below.

  • Joy – There is no denying day trading with penny stocks can be attractive. Big wins and big losses make for an interesting market.
  • Speed ​​– While many on your penny stock list may remain stable, some prices will move significantly in a short space of time. This can lead to huge profit potential for trading today.
  • Start-up capital – Less than a thousand dollars only allows you to buy a few shares of a large company. However, you can buy thousands of shares of penny stocks that interest you.

 

Weakness

Unfortunately, many penny stock day trading videos that advertise fail to show some of the potential:

  • Low quality companies – No matter how effective your strategy is, you need to take into account the low quality of the majority of penny stocks. This means that companies are in a terrible financial position, with worrying balance sheets, generating huge losses.
  • Risky markets – There are several penny stocks that are regulated on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. However, those traded on the Pink Sheets, OTC, or OTCQX often lack sufficient oversight. Unfortunately, there are only strict penny stock rules. This means that listing fees, reporting requirements and regulations can be almost non-existent.
  • Broker fees – With traditional day trading vs penny stocks, you also have to factor in the poorly structured pricing deals that brokers offer. Many will charge higher commission rates for penny stocks, if they offer them at all. Many will also not allow special trading orders, such as stop losses.
  • Low trading volume – Trading volume is important if you want to generate good profits. But penny stocks can see several thousand shares traded daily, and some less. However, large companies can sell tens of millions of shares in a day.
  • Scams – Head to a penny stock day trading forum and you can quickly see stories of lies, scams, pumps and dumps. Unfortunately, there is a wealth of unknown information, so making the right investment decisions can be very challenging.
  • Selling – Following trading at low volume, finding buyers when you want to sell can be difficult. This is a serious problem, especially when making a profit often depends on buying and selling at the right time.

Track Winners

As you can see above, penny stock reviews highlight some serious concerns when these instruments are used for day-to-day trading. Perhaps then, a focus on traditional stocks would be a wiser investment decision.

However, there are some individuals out there who are making a profit from penny stocks. So if you want to join this minority club, you need to make sure you know what a good penny stock looks like.

To do that, consider the following:

  • Is the company profitable?
  • How many shares are outstanding?
  • Are stock splits and stock shares exercised?
  • Can the company realistically turn a profit based on its current business structure?
  • Does the current management team rely on issuing new shares to raise capital?
  • Can the company compete effectively in its sector?

Also, when it comes to penny stocks for figurines, knowing where to look can also give you a head start. For example, the metals and mining sector is known for the number of companies that trade high in cents.

The Final Word on Penny Stock Trading Day

Overall, penny stocks may not be suitable for active day traders. This is because even the best day trading stocks under $5 can lack the volume, rules, and accurate information needed to make an informed investment decision. However, if you are interested in exploring further, there are several day trading penny stock books and training videos available.

Stocks For Kids

This is a popular niche. Choosing stocks for children. Here, the focus is on long-term growth. ”  Day trading  ” does not necessarily happen. When looking for long-term ‘buy and hold’ growth (and passing it on to future generations), the main test for any stock – is time.

Time filters almost everything, great ideas, great books, great music – the best of them ‘stand the test of time’. Stocks (or companies) are similar. If you want to buy some stock and not worry about it until you pass it on to your kids, look for the oldest business out there. Tech stocks are just too new to know if they are still ‘classics’. A company that has been running for 100 years has seen (and survived) more booms and busts than any hotshot trader. Let time be your guide.

Day Trading Stock Tips

From the above, you should now have a plan for when you will trade and what you will trade. But it is also worth identifying how much you can risk per trade, plus setting a maximum daily loss or loss from the upper limit. This discipline will prevent you from losing more than you can afford while optimizing your profit potential. So think of this as a general rule of thumb when you’re day trading stocks:

  • Keep it simple – If you’re new to the game, focus on just one or two securities to start with. This simple approach is perfect for those who don’t have sixteen hours a day to spend glued to the screen. If you trade the same few securities every day, you will become an expert faster.
  • Know your costs – Day traders often end up paying huge amounts in commission fees, just through volume. Income tax may be another cost, depending on location and whether day trading is your ‘job’. Throw in that you’re competing against sophisticated algorithms that can get in and out of positions in seconds, and you’ll realize how important an effective money management strategy is to day trading stocks.

Tool

Education

If you want to advance for tomorrow, you need to learn about the various resources available. It is very important for beginners to use the tools below:

  • Blogs and forums – These provide a great opportunity to learn from experienced traders. Traders can offer techniques to scan potential stocks. In addition, you can learn the secret of profit from sharp and sharp price fluctuations. You can also get day trading stocks for free.
  • Courses – There are now many online and face-to-face courses available. It can teach you everything from the basics of day trading stocks to in-depth technical stock market analysis. In addition, you will often discover the risks of certain strategies and how to avoid them. All can help you avoid the most common mistakes made by intraday stock traders.
  • Tutorials – These can come in the form of training videos, PDFs, or other written documents. They can walk you through creating new software for stock selection and creating stock signals. All of which can help you take advantage of the most volatile stocks and increase overall pay.
  • Newsletters – Online stock newsletters can prove useful. They often scan for potential stocks for you, while displaying stock charts to support their findings. If you’re looking for the best stocks right now, they can often be explored.
  • Stock websites – These sites are a great place to go for hot stocks and recommendations. Often, they also offer useful definitions for beginners and help you define criteria when looking for opportunities.
  • Books – Day trading stock market books are another great resource. They can help you do everything from identifying hot oil stocks to avoiding illiquid stocks. You will also find specialized books. So, if you’re interested in day trading stocks, for example, the right book can help you identify the best day trading stocks under $5.

 

Stock Picking Software

You may want to start trading stocks full time, however, with so many different securities and markets, how do you know what to choose? Do you want to start day trading gold stocks, bank stocks, cheap stocks, or maybe Hong Kong stocks?

This is where stock picking services can prove useful. But what exactly does it do and how exactly can it help? This is basically a computer program that helps you pick the best stocks from the market, in a given scenario. It can then help in the following ways:

  • This software usually streamlines the process of pouring over large amounts of data and finding potential opportunities that fit certain criteria.
  • You will often get real-time email and text alerts when new trading opportunities arise.
  • Many stock pickers have active and helpful chat rooms that will help you learn how to start checking for the stocks you are interested in.
  • Many providers offer market insights early in the day, plus stock ideas and techniques to take advantage of the most active stock day trading.
  • This software is often versatile. So, it can be used to help you start trading dividend stocks, IPO stocks, and blue chip stocks.

Overall, such software can be useful if used correctly. It can quickly create a watch stock list, allowing you to focus your time on strategizing. However, it is important to note that such a system will only be used to supplement your strategy and not as a comprehensive day trading stock advisor.

Demo Account

The free day trading stock simulator is a great way to learn about the market. So, how does it work? Funded with virtual money, you can do stock picking, so you can practice buying and selling your favorite Apple or Biotech stock. This allows you to practice dealing with stock liquidity and develop stock analysis skills.

Because you practice real historical data, you can develop specific strategies that will work best for NASDAQ or NYSE, for example. All these can help you find the right day trading formula for your stock market. Not to mention, as a result of the time spent on the demo account, making future stock predictions may be much easier.

For more guidance on how the practice simulator can help you, check out our demo account page.
Remember – if you want to make $100 a day trading stocks, whether you are from Canada, India, Singapore, Australia, or the Philippines, you need to use as many of the above resources as possible.

Final Word

Hundreds of millions of stocks are traded in the hundreds of millions every day. This makes the stock market an exciting and action-packed place. When you day trade, look for stock patterns that show favorable volume and opportunistic volatility. There are several user-friendly trackers to watch day trading stocks and to help you identify which ones to buy. Today’s stock traders will also have a clear strategy. In addition, they will follow their own rules to maximize profits and minimize losses.