Trading Watchlist

Focus list

The watchlist consists of two sections, the Focus list for my best trading ideas, and other stocks worth watching.
There are usually 2-5 stocks on the Focus list. A typical Focus stock is in a strong industry group, gapped up to historical high today, closed near the high of the day, and had highly important news.

How to trade

I scan market news before open. If any stock on the watchlist releases news, I will pay extra attention to the stock.
I only consider stocks that are positive on the day. There are three major entry points:

• Opening range breakout.
• Stock goes from negative to positive.
• Stock breaks previous day's high

Intraday trends between 9:45am and 11:00am tend to be more consistent. There are more false breakouts before 9:45am.
Strong momentum often lasts for a short time only. I use measured move to calculate intraday targets and take profit. If a stock exceeds the targets and keeps rising, it may be a good candidate for swing trading.