A traders toolbox is incomplete without custom scans to identify potential candidates. Scanning visually through thousands of charts to find one or two winners that fit your criteria is an absolute waste of precious time. Instead, consider customizing a scan or two and let your computer do the work.
This 50/200ma scan is simple……..
Criteria: find a bullish 50/200ma cross within a two day window. The cross should occur today, having been close or crossing yesterday, hence the < or = symbols. The result finds stocks that are changing trends on a larger time frame.
[type = stock]
and [country is US]
// Find a 50/200 ma cross
and [today’s sma(50,close) > today’s sma(200,close)]
and [yesterday’s sma(50,close) <= yesterday’s sma(200,close)]
// Find stocks trading above 10 dollars
and [close > 10]
// SCTR Stocks are assigned a score based on six key indicators, which cover different timeframes. These indicator scores are then sorted and assigned a technical rank. Using SCTR tables, chartists can sort stocks according to their technical rank. This makes it easy to identify the technical leaders and laggards within a specific group. Adjust to higher or lower values and rescan.
and [SCTR > 50]
This scan found CF for inclusion in the watch list this morning.
Here is CF as we near the close. Not bad for a days work. And, its just getting started.
Now, if you’re like some traders, you might say, “Vinny, this scan is so simple, how can this possibly benefit me?” My answer would be, check out NFLX, when the 50ma crossed the 200ma in October. Now ask me the question again.
Add this scan to your traders toolbox, if you have a Stockcharts account. If you don’t have an account, try and replicate on your platform of choice. Make sure you compare the 50/200ma with action on the previous day. That little nuance is important, as you want to trade the cross as it happens on the day of entry.
Don’t underestimate simplicity. Sometimes its the simple concepts that keep a trader from achieving their “epiphany”, like always asking yourself before you take a new position, “where is price relative to the 9/20ema?”
Happy Trading – CV
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