Day Trading Stock Picks – US and Canadian Lists (Updated Weekly)
Day trading stock picks likely to move big (up or down) during the week of June 19, 2018. See lists and statistics for both US and Canadian day trading stocks.
These day trading stocks have a strong history of percentage or dollar volatility. That means these stocks are highly likely to move big (up or down–trade the intraday trends) each day for the next week.
This list is updated each Tuesday before the Open. Bookmark this page and come back for the latest list and statistics.
The list is broken down into three sections.
The first section looks at stocks that typically have high percentage volatility each day. These are the criteria for these volatility-based day trading stock picks:
- Greater than 4.5% moves intraday, on average.
- More than 4 million average volume (typically more).
- No leveraged ETFs.
- Priced between $5 and $150…although this screen typically tends to produce stocks that are on the lower end of that price range.
The second section looks at stocks that tend to move big in terms of dollar movement. Here are the criteria for those types of stocks.
- The stock moves more than $2 per day.
- The stock does more than 6,000,000 average volume daily.
Since these sections look at different criteria, they also produce different stocks.
The third section looks at Canadian day trading stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange is a much smaller market, so the above searches don’t work as well. Instead, when searching for volatile Canadian stocks, the following parameters are used:
- Greater than 1 million average volume.
- Price greater than $5.
- 70th percentile of volatility for all stocks on the exchange. In other words, if all stocks on the TSX are ranked by volatility, only the ones that rank in the top 30% will be included in the results.
These lists are not recommending a specific trade or direction. For some guidance on day trading the stock picks discussed below, see How to Day Trade Stocks in 2 Hours or Less which discusses how and where to enter trades, how to exit trades, when to trade, and risk management.
Pick a few stocks and trade them; don’t try to trade all of them.
Trading volatile stocks isn’t for everyone. It takes quick reflexes and fast execution to take advantage of the large moves in these stocks. Make sure you have a stable high-speed internet connection. Your broker should execute trades instantly. If there is a lag or delay between when you place your order and when it reaches the exchange (is confirmed), that presents a potential issue as you may end up missing your entries or exits.
If you are more of a do-it-yourself person and like to look for stocks that are moving a lot each day, I recommend getting a Finviz Elite subscription. Use it to see what is moving aggressively each day in the pre-market and during the day, look for stocks that are gapping pre-market, and run technical filters for stocks breaking out of ranges or other chart patterns. This is ideal for people who don’t like waiting for trades and instead like to actively seek out trades all day long.
Day Trading Stock Picks for Week of June 19, 2018
5-minute charts provided by TradingView. Charts may take a moment to update. Charts show BATS only transactions (BATS provides free trade data, which isn’t the same as official real-time data of all transactions).
IQIYI Inc. (IQ)
Average day range (30) is 8.13% and average volume (30) is 18.3 million.
Endo Pharmaeuticals (ENDP)
Average day range (30) is 5.51% and average volume (30) is 7.5 million.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR)
Average day range (30) is 5.49% and average volume (30) is 39.8 million.
Roku Inc. (ROKU)
Average day range (30) is 5.21% and average volume (30) is 9.2 million.
Ensco PLC (ESV)
Average day range (30) is 4.78% and average volume (30) is 14.7 million.
Fitbit (FIT)
Average day range (30) is 4.7% and average volume (30) is 8.4 million.
Tal International (TAL)
Average day range (30) is 4.59% and average volume (30) is 5.6 million.
Other Good Day Trading Stocks and ETFs
Another option is to look for stocks with large daily moves in dollar terms (for example, the price typically moves $2 a day and does at least 6 million in volume). This type of screen also tends to produce stocks that provide ample volatility for trading the intraday price moves. These stocks are typically higher priced or have experienced a recent price shock. Average True Range is a common indicator that measures daily average movement (in dollars).
Nvidia (NVDA): ATR (14) is $4.73 and Average Volume (30) is 12.7 million.
AliBaba Group (BABA): ATR (14) is $4.54 and Average Volume (30) is 17.3 million.
Facebook (FB): ATR (14) is $3.43 and Average Volume (30) is 16.9 million.
Micron Technology (MU): ATR (14) is $2.28 and Average Volume (30) is 53.2 million.
Apple (AAPL): ATR (14) is $2.23 and Average Volume (30) is 23.6 million.
Additionally, the stocks and ETFs below typically move enough to create tradable intra-day trends, have ample volume but aren’t quite as volatile as the stocks above.
S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY)
Bank of America (BAC)
PowerShares QQQ (QQQ)
Got a volatile stock you like day trading/found? Let me know in the comments section.
Canadian Day Trading Stocks
Tradingview only provides free Daily charts for Canadian stocks, so daily charts are provided below. For intra-day charts, subscribe to real-time Canadian charts on Tradingview, or use the charts provided by your broker.
Aurora Cannabis (ACB): ATR (14) is $0.43 and Average Volume (20) is 8.4 million.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): ATR (14) is $1.39 and Average Volume (30) is 1.1 million.
Cenovous Energy (CVE): ATR (14) is $0.39 and Average Volume (30) is 4.5 million.
First Quantum Minerals (FM): ATR (14) is $0.87 and Average Volume (30) is 2 million.
Remember Risk Management
Losing trades WILL happen. Don’t risk more than 1% of your trading account on a trade (risk = difference between entry price and stop loss price, multiplied by the number of shares). Slippage is likely in these stocks. Make sure the stock can support the position size you wish to trade. Failing to do so could result in further slippage.
See the video: How to Find Volatile Stocks for Day Trading (in 20 minutes a week) for the method used to find these stocks.
By Cory Mitchell, CMT
It is funny (and sad, very sad) how many times I read Cory’s articles, know what the right thing to do is and completely ignore it anyway. I tried stocks in play, then I went to trying to trade 5-6 of these stocks at a time (6 charts on my screen, trying to get every move in each one), narrowing it down to 3 or 4 that I traded better, narrowing again down to 2 and here I am, down to one stock that I trade well. It took me months to figure this out – checking previous trading results, trying to find consistency and pulling out some hair in the process. The whole time Cory has said over and over, just pick one. Luckily one thing I’ve listened to from the beginning was to trade small.
I’m not sure if it’s just sort of human nature to “trial and error” the unknown (but kind of knowing the results from others who have experienced it anyway) or if I’m just that thickheaded and stubborn. Regardless, I look at it positively now and as much as I tell myself I’m going to follow or listen to someone experienced to the T, there’s always that part of me that wants to go against the grain. So, again, I think it’s crucial to keep size small through all of these moments of honing the process to later, hopefully, learn for yourself what you already knew and continue to develop.
A big takeaway I got from this specific process was how greedy and FOMO-ish (I know, that’s not a word) I really am. I don’t see myself as a greedy person in the day to day and definitely not FOMO driven. But the fact that it kind of irked me emotionally that I would be limited to 1 stock and it might not have the big move I want and that another stock in the realm of thousands would make that big move and I’d miss it. If you think about it, it’s absurd. It leads to overtrading, mis-sizing risk (stocks in play can be $200 or $2 with crazy slippage) and just an overall sense of getting lost in the whole process.
So, how many more months is it going to take for me to know what I already know? I don’t know but I hope to continue to develop positively in this way and come to realize all of my misgivings and bad proclivities.
You have captured the essence of some very common problems.
It becomes a bit easier after you see consistent results from doing the same thing over and over again. For example, let’s say you only trade 1 stock (like I do typically). Most days are pretty uneventful (but still fun) and you make some money. Most days are like this. Then one day, that stock has crazy moves and you have a massively profitable day. Then the next day you go back to making your normal profit. Maybe several months or a year later you have another massive day. You do well most of the time, and extremely well a small portion of the time.
Once you do something consistently, you get to see that doing something consistently you will actually end up in the right place at the right time every so often. If we continually try to change things all the time, we will likely never be in the right place at the right time. Also, if we are changing things all the time we probably won’t be able to capitalize on a good opportunity even if it slaps us in the face because we have no consistently profitable method for doing so. By changing all the time we lose everything–the consistent wins and the big wins.
So we need to stick with something to see the benefits. And of course, we all know this, but that doesn’t make it easy. The continual stream of new exercise equipment and diets let’s us know that sticking to something is very hard and is a major problem for most people. It’s another reason trading is tough.
In regards to trial and error… no one wants to be good by chance. What that means is that people like to feel like they are good at something because they are actively involved in the process of being good. If I tell you a method and you just follow it and make money, you are not engaged in the process and it feels unrewarding. You want to forge your own path, and try to replicate the results in on your own terms. Also, it is only through trial and error that you really get to see how something works. If we just copycat, we never find out how a thing works which means we haven’t mastered it and will likely lose money when any small variable changes. I think we all know this, and that is why sometimes we test out so many things only to end up back at what we agreed with in the first place. We had to get the experience of what doesn’t work we can stick to what does…which relates back to the first point.
To help with the second point, since most of us want to feel like we are good at something (and want to take credit for it) we need to adopt a mind frame that removes that element. For example, I try not to think of myself as a good trader (ego). Rather, I am just a trader who uses a good system (no ego…I am just a button pusher for the system). It is a small shift, but a massive and profound one. As a button pusher we there is no bias or fear or greed. We are just executing a profitable system that we have thoroughly tested. Related to the point prior, though, most people don’t want to give credit to their system, and therefore they don’t stick to it. They want to think of themselves as a great trader, which in their mind is making on-the-fly trades and trying to outsmart the market and even their own systems. …and of course, we know that doesn’t work.
So our quickest path to consistency is humility in realizing we are just a button pusher for a good system. In order to stick with the system, we need to trust that system and know how it works. This is what the practice time is before we start live trading. Practice doesn’t need to be a journey into testing out every system and variable imaginable, rather is about trading a few strategies and practicing how they can be adapted to most market conditions (and also learning when not to trade).
Some food for thought 🙂
I love your line: “So, how many more months is it going to take for me to know what I already know?”
While I feel I have a hold of my trading (most of the time), this question does still apply in many other aspects of my life. As I am sure we can all relate haha.
I did a search that combines both volatility and ATR and came up with a handful, though some might be questionable due to low volume. I selected above 400k, definitely harder to trade. But sometimes these stocks have high relative volume. I call the low volume ones the gentle giants, BPMC and IPGP, and they might appeal to those with slower reflexes. NKTR, OLED, and ANET also hit my radar (all above 1M shares daily). OLED is in price shock and NKTR is a rocket. There are a plenty of others, but we can’t trade them all. A good variant on BAC might be TWTR since it has more range. 1000-share positions can skim $200 pretty quick.
Hi,
Thank you for all the useful information you post on your website. Would you be posting Canadian stock picks in the future? It’s often difficult to find good Canadian stocks for day or swing trades.
Thanks
I hadn’t planned on it. But I could look into compiling a short list of Canadian day trading stocks with good volume and movement. Will see what I can find. The main problem is a lack of good scanning resources on Canadian stocks…although I do have one that may work well. We shall see. Hopefully on the next update, or the one after, I will be able to add that.
I lay out how to find Canadian swing trading stocks in my Stock Market Swing Trading Video Course. Using the StockRover screener and looking through the top percentage performers on the TSX over the last 6 months and 1 year.
Canadian day trading stock list has been added. Thanks for the suggestion.
Question:
How did you screen for average day range (30) on TV please? I cant find it in the list of filters. Is this a custom setting?
Not sure I understand your question. At the time of your question, TV is not on the list.
All settings on Stockfetcher (the software used to scan for these stocks) use custom settings. A “how to” link is provided at the bottom of the article showing you how to set up the scan.
The average day range (50) of TV is 2.0%, at the time I am writing this.
To find the average day range of a stock that is NOT on the list, you first need to set up the scan as shown in the How To. Then, input any stock symbol in the Symbol box on the left-side of the Stockfetcher homepage. Click the search icon. The stock will show up, along with a list of your saved screens/scans. Click on the scan includes the Day Range criteria. Your scan criteria will be shown on the chart so you can see the average day range.
Question…How can I study the course with my iPad?.. Also is it available online, or can I copy / burn the course to a dvd?.. Seriously interested..
Thanks
Hi Manny,
All the eBooks are in PDF and the videos are in AVI format, so they can be watched from any device (would recommend a universal video player like VLC if using a MAC). You can download the course up to 5 times to get onto your various devices. You may burn the course onto dvd as well, if you wish, for personal use.
Have a great holiday season!
Cheers,
Cory
NVDA for the week
how do you show more than 5 stocks on free stock fetcher
You won’t be able to see more than 5 with the free version, but you can see a different 5. When you run the screener (per the instructions here: https://vantagepointtrading.com/how-to-find-volatile-stocks-for-day-trading/ …. alter it slightly to your preference), click on different variables on the chart to sort the entire list (even the ones you can’t see) by that variable. For example, click volume to sort by volume. This will produce a different 5 than clicking on Average Day Range, which will sort the list by that criteria, likely providing a different list of 5. So basically by sorting you can see more of stocks that are on the list.