A stock screener is a computer application that has a graphical user interface and is designed to search for stocks by employing several filters that are set by the trader.
Stock screeners are used by day traders to whittle down the list of the more than 7,000 stocks that are traded on U.S. exchanges. Screeners assist traders in narrowing the focus of their trades to a more manageable list of equity investments that meet the criteria they have specified.
Traders have access to a wide variety of filters, from which they can select the one that best suits their needs. These filters may include trading volume, chart patterns, stock price, volatility, or recent performance. Here is a list of four common screeners that can make the work of sifting through the mountains of stock information to pick one to trade much simpler for you.
Best Free Stock Screeners for Day Trading
StockFetcher
Once you get the feel of it, StockFetcher is one of the most powerful stock screeners that are currently accessible. However, getting the hang of it may take some time. You have the option, when using StockFetcher, to choose one of the stock screens that have already been created or to make your own.
Entering the precise parameters for the stock screener requires using a particular format (the website provides a number of examples for reference). There is a virtually limitless number of possible combinations of filters and criteria.
You are only able to view five stocks at a time from the stock screener’s search results when using the free version of StockFetcher. When day trading, this is typically sufficient for locating a few stocks to trade that are of a high quality. The basic edition of StockFetcher, which costs $8.95 per month or $24.95 per quarter and enables users to view all of the search results, costs $16.95 per month or $44.95 per quarter, but the advanced version costs $24.95 less per month or $8.95 less per quarter.
Finviz
Utilize Finviz to narrow down the stocks available on the U.S. equities market to only a few of the most profitable day trading options from among the hundreds of possible filter combinations.
The website is really simple to navigate. After selecting the screener tab, begin adding criteria to the three primary categories, which are described as descriptive, fundamental, and technical, respectively. After you have specified some requirements, you will be presented with a list of stocks that meet those criteria. Adjusting the view allows you to change the information that is displayed on these stocks.
There are 14 different perspectives available for selection. Views such as Overview, Valuation, Financial, Performance, Technical, Charts, and News are included in this section. You may see which stocks on your list are ranked highest or lowest by adjusting the view and sorting it according to the type of information you have.
Finviz is free to use, but the stock quotes are delayed by 15 minutes for the NASDAQ, 20 minutes for the NYSE and AMEX, and 30 minutes for the NYSE. If you run your stock screens at night, looking for potential trade prospects for the following day, this strategy is likely to be successful.
You have the option to upgrade to Finviz Elite if you desire a scanner that provides data in real time. It comes with extra features and costs $39.50 per month (if you choose the monthly plan), or $24.96 per month (if you choose the annual plan, which costs $299.50 per year).
ChartMill
The stock screener on ChartMill provides you with eight different choices for selecting stocks suitable for day trading. You have the ability to select routine stock information inside the general area.
You have the ability to select performance criteria, such as beta or past relative strength, using the tab labeled “performance.” The other tabs provide you with additional alternatives, like as indicators and support and resistance variables, to assist you in making a decision regarding your trade.
To assist traders in selecting equities that most closely meet their trading criteria, various filters are available to chose from within each category.
The free stock screener is user-friendly, similar to Finviz’s interface. The website operates on a credit system, and you are given 6,000 free credits on a monthly basis, which continue to build up even if you don’t use them.
The operation of the scanner will set you back a few hundred credits. The free monthly credits are sufficient to enable the vast majority of users to make frequent use of the site without having to pay for additional credits. After using up all of your credits, you will still be able to use the website, but you will only have access to a subset of its features.
You have the option to either pay $10 for a block of 10,000 credits or pay $29.97 per month (or $259.97 annually, which comes out to $21.66 per month) to upgrade to unlimited usage.
StockRover
StockRover is a widely used screener for equities traded in the United States and Canada. Day traders are able to make use of a large number of technical and performance-based filters, in addition to the fundamental filters that are provided.
It is easy to locate stocks that are trading near their highs or lows for a variety of time frames, as well as stocks that have strong price momentum (up or down). Monitor which stocks are being bought and sold by well-known hedge funds, and build your own individualized portfolios, watchlists, and screens.
Backtesting is also possible with StockRover, as is the creation of equations, which involve the combination of numerous filters into a mathematical equation in order to further refine the results.
All users have access to hundreds of different functions; however, only paying customers can use extra features such as equations, data exporting, filters, portfolio analytics, and alarms. A paid subscription at the base level costs $79.99 per year, while the Premium plan costs $179.99 per year, and the Premium Plus plan costs $279.99 per year.
Stock Screeners: Getting the Most Out of Their Potential
When you’re a day trader, it’s easy to get caught up in the never-ending hunt for the next stock that’s about to make a significant move. At the same time, you’re probably trying to find that stock. Even while this strategy has the potential to be successful, in practice it almost always leads to exhaustion and subpar performance. This is because by the time you become aware of the movement, it has already transpired.
Utilize these stock screeners at least once a day, preferably at night, rather than spending your time attempting to find the next fantastic trade. You might even use them over the weekend to identify several good stocks to trade the following week and put that information to work.
Note
Whether you already have a broker, you may want to check their website to see if they offer a stock screener. This will prevent you from having to pay additional subscription fees somewhere else.
After that, limit your attention throughout the upcoming trading session or week to day trading between one and three stocks at a time. This strategy involves significantly less time investment than actively scanning would. Because you’re simply keeping an eye on a handful of stocks, you’ll always be prepared to buy or sell when the timing is perfect.
Questions That Are Typically Asked Stock Screeners for Day Trading (FAQs)
What sets a stock screener apart from a stock scanner, and what are the benefits of each?
Screeners are not the same as scanners, which are geared for continuous monitoring and make use of data that is updated in real time. Screeners are more comprehensive. Traders that want pricing information as it is happening can benefit from using stock scanners, which are built for them. Screeners are created for traders who do not wish to trade on price swings as they are happening and as they are occurring.
How do you search for stocks with a low float on Finviz?
Low-float equities are ones that have a relatively small number of shares that are actively traded in the market. You can search for these stocks using the “shares outstanding” filter option on a stock screener such as Finviz. A stock is said to have low float when it has a small number of shares that are currently outstanding.