Much of a stock trader’s job revolves around the interpretation of data on a screen. For this reason, stock trading software plays a key role in day trading. Most brokerage firms offer trading software to their clients when they open an account. Many firms will claim to have the best software available in an effort to gain you as their client. However, because of the diversity in markets, trading strategies, and personal preferences, there really isn’t a single best stock trading software.

Stock Trading Software: Which Is the Best?

Although there is not a “best” stock trading software, the following are 12 of the most commonly-used stock trading software on the market:

1. MetaStock
2. Yewno|Edge
3. eSignal
4. TradingView
5. Ninja Trader
6. EquityFeed Workstation
7. VectorVest
8. ProfitSource
9. INO MarketClub
10. Ally Invest
11. TD Ameritrade
12. E-Trade

1. MetaStock

MetaStock is one of the most popular stock trading software programs out there. It has over 300 technical indicators, integrated news, and built-in drawing tools for its technical indicators. Its fundamental data can be screened and filtered making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for without having to sift through copious amounts of information.

Another feature is that it covers many types of assets across global markets. These assets include the following:

• Equities
• Forex
• Commodities
• Derivatives
• Futures

Traders can choose between the MetaStock Daily Charts Subscription or its MetaStock Real Time packages. While the MetaStock Real Time packages are designed more for day traders, both options include the program’s well-reviewed stock charting software.

2. Yewno|Edge

Yewno|Edge is known for its ability to minimize the amount of information that’s typically thrown at investors. It operates on an AI-driven platform that gathers both alternative and fundamental data so investors only receive applicable analyses and information. With this stock trading software, you’ll spend less time sifting through copious amounts of data and articles, and more time investing and earning.

Another benefit of using Yewno|Edge’s platform is its ability to evaluate a company’s exposure to things like autonomous vehicles and data privacy, and then to design strategies based on those concepts. Investors who use this stock trading software can also set up personalized notifications and perform more in-depth research that breaches the surface level of a company’s reportings.

3. eSignal

The stock trading software, eSignal, is another software program that is toward the top in popularity rankings. The features of eSignal vary based on the specific package that is purchased. Typically, eSignal offers global coverage on many different asset classes including bonds, forex, funds, derivatives, and stocks. Its trade management interface is a key tool that many traders find extremely helpful. It also offers customization for its stock charting software. Although it has a limited number of technical indicators, they do come with optional alerts and backtesting.

4. TradingView

When it comes to market analysis, TradingView is by far one of the most advanced stock trading software programs. This software offers more than 100 technical indicators as well as over 5,000 custom-built indicators. Using the software’s programming, investors can develop their own studies and signals rather than simply running generic, pre-established processes.

Another bonus of TradingView is that it not only provides fundamental data on companies, but also analyzes and compares domestic and global economic data. Many investors enjoy the social capability of TradingView. It offers chat forums and applications so that individual traders can easily share their analyses with others. With TradingView, investors from all over can network and grow together.

5. NinjaTrader

Another widely-used research and trading platform is NinjaTrader. It offers solutions from start to finish using customized options and third-party libraries. It has the usual features such as technical indicators, charting, fundamentals, and research tools. However, what makes NinjaTrader unique is its trade simulator. With this feature, investors can practice their trading strategies in a risk-free environment. Another bonus of NinjaTrader is that traders can use its backtesting, advanced charting, and trade simulating features for free.

6. EquityFeed Workstation

EquityFeed Workstation is a popular stock trading software because of its stock finding tool known as “FilterBuilder.” It allows investors to filter and choose stocks based on their desired criteria. Many users claim that this tool is the best stock screening software available; however, it has a very limited amount of technical indicators and does not offer backtesting or automated trading.

7. VectorVest

VectorVest is a stock trading software tailored to the intercontinental investors. Its analytics software and trading platforms cover many geographic areas including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong, and India. With its extensive coverage using technical indicators on major funds and stocks around the world, investors will stay in the know regardless of location. VectorVest also provides real-time filtering, backtesting, watch lists, customization, and charting tools.

8. ProfitSource

ProfitSource focuses on short-term, active traders who have their entry and exit strategies perfected. Its claim to fame are its detailed technical indicators with a backtesting feature offering over 40 built-in, automated technical indicators. This stock trading software covers a variety of assets all around the world including forex, futures, equities, options, and funds.

9. INO MarketClub

If you’re looking for a great stock trading charting software, then you might like INO MarketClub. This software provides trend lines, filtering capabilities, technical indicators, and quantitative analysis tools. Its charting and trading systems cover stocks as well as forex, ETFs, futures, and precious metals.

10. Ally Invest

Ally Invest is consistently voted as one of the best stock trading software for online brokering. Its stock and ETF trading prices are quite low compared to other brokerages, and its options trading is competitively priced.

Ally Invest’s software platform offers quotes, market snapshots, historical data, and charts that are available on any device. It also provides an online banking service if you’re looking to consolidate your investments with other accounts. You can even open a retirement account or have them manage your funds. Ally Invest is a well-rounded software that does a little of everything.

11. TD Ameritrade

Whether you’re new to the stock market or an expert investor, TD Ameritrade is a solid stock trading software. It offers every tool and service you need for a successful stock market experience. The brokerage provides third-party research, news streaming through Yahoo! Finance, real-time quotes, social sentiment analysis, and planning tools.

Its trading platform, Thinkorswim, is also an investor favorite. It offers access to advanced features such as the thinkManual, market scans, and tutorials.

12. E-Trade

E-Trade is another stock trading and brokerage platform. It’s considered one of the best stock trading software because of its real-time data, research, and analysis that is available for its investors. When you have access to historical and real-time information, you can discover and act on the best stocks in the market.

You can also use their educational resources like blog posts, news articles, and webinars to continue learning and strengthening your trading skills. Although E-Trade is not as competitive when it comes to pricing, many traders find the cost of this stock trading software worth the investment.

How to Choose the Best Stock Trading Software

If you’re looking to branch out from the free trading platforms by investing in a stock trading software, you want to make sure you choose the stock trading program that best meets your particular needs. A great way to determine this is by utilizing the free trial periods that many software programs offer.

Many beginners prefer a stock trading software that has a solid reputation, basic tools, and is financially managed through a monthly subscription. If you’re an expert trader looking to access more information, then you might want to look into individual stock trading software that can be purchased separately. Going this route allows you to better meet your trading requirements.

If you want to become a successful stock trader, one of the things you need to know is when to enter or exit a trade. This isn’t always easy, but you can use a technique called divergence trading to make better decisions. Trading divergences can help you become a consistently profitable trader because you’ll often buy near the bottom and sell near the top, which reduces your risks and increases your potential profits. Check out this comprehensive guide to learn what divergence is in stocks and how to trade divergence properly:

What Is a Divergence in Trading?

A divergence occurs when an asset’s price is moving in one direction and an indicator is moving in a different direction. In general, if the price is rising and making higher highs but the indicator is making lower lows, there’s a divergence. A divergence suggests that the current price trend is showing signs of weakening and may cause the price to change direction. It can happen between the price of an asset and almost any indicator.

A price divergence can be positive or negative. A positive divergence is an indication that the price of an asset may move up, while a negative divergence signals that the price is likely to fall. However, it’s important to note that divergence shouldn’t be relied on solely when executing a trade because it may not provide timely trade signals. It can go on for a long time without the occurrence of a price reversal.

Types of Divergence in the Stock Market

There are two types of regular divergence and two types of hidden divergence. While a regular divergence signals a reversal of the price trend, a hidden divergence indicates that the trend will persist. Below are the four forms of divergence in stock trading:

• Bearish divergence: A bearish divergence occurs when the price is making higher highs while your preferred indicator is giving you lower highs. It usually leads to the price making a rapid bearish move.
• Bullish divergence: A bullish divergence is the opposite of a bearish divergence. It happens when the price is creating lower lows while the indicator is showing higher lows, suggesting that the price should be on an upward trend.
• Hidden bearish divergence: There’s a hidden bearish divergence when the price is making lower highs and the indicator is creating higher highs. It means that the trend should remain on the downside.
• Hidden bullish divergence: A hidden bearish divergence occurs when the price is creating higher lows while the indicator is showing lower lows. In this case, the trend is likely to stay on the upside.

Commonly Used Stock Divergence Indicators

In order to accurately identify divergence in stocks, you need to know how to use an indicator. There are many indicators at your disposal, each of which has its own pros and cons. It’s up to you to decide which indicator is most suitable for your trading style. The following are four commonly used stock divergence indicators:

MACD Indicator

MACD is the acronym for Moving Average Convergence Divergence. It consists of a faster line and a slower line that can intersect one another, as well as a zero line. When using this indicator, you have to look for the moment when the faster line crosses the slower line.

If the fast line crosses the slow line in an upward direction, it’s a sign of a bullish divergence. Conversely, if the fast line crosses in a downward direction, you have a bearish divergence. A bullish signal occurs when the MACD line is going up while the price is going down. If the MACD line is going down and the price is rising, it’s an indication of a bearish divergence.

RSI Indicator

RSI stands for Relative Strength Index. It’s an oscillator indicator with one line that fluctuates in three different areas. These areas are the oversold area below the 30 line, the overbought area above the 70 line, and a neutral area between the 30 and 70 lines. If the RSI line crosses the 70 mark into the overbought zone, you have a sell signal. On the other hand, if the line falls below the 30 mark into the oversold area, it gives you a buy signal.

Stochastic Indicator

As a member of the oscillator indicator group, the Stochastic indicator works in the same way as the RSI indicator. This indicator has two lines that fluctuate in different areas on a chart that ranges from 0 to 100. These areas include the oversold zone below the 20 line, overbought zone above the 80 line, and a neutral zone between the oversold and overbought zones. A sell signal occurs when the two lines rise above the 80 line, while a buy signal is shown when the lines dip below the 20 line.

CCI Indicator

CCI, or Commodity Channel Index, was developed as a commodity trading indicator, but it’s now widely used in stock trading as well. It’s a simple indicator that consists of an indicator line, zero line, and overbought and oversold areas. The CCI indicates that the price of an asset is above the historic average when it’s above zero and below the historic average when it’s below zero. If the indicator line rises to above 100, it gives a sell signal. Conversely, if it falls below -100, it shows a buy signal.

How to Trade Divergence

Knowing how to identify divergence in the stock market can help you make better buying and selling decisions. It enables you to gain a better understanding of the underlying momentum in an asset’s price and assess the possibility of a price reversal. Learning how to read indicators is the first step to successful divergence trading, but it isn’t enough. You also have to know certain tips and tricks in order to take full advantage of divergence in stocks. Follow these strategies to become a more effective divergence trader:

Understand that Divergence Isn’t Confirmation

As mentioned earlier, you should avoid making buying and selling decisions based on divergence alone. Instead, you have to use a variety of other criteria and tools to confirm a trade. A divergence takes place when an asset’s price and your indicator are telling you different things, while a confirmation occurs when the price and the indicator or multiple indicators are showing the same thing. Ideally, you should achieve confirmation before you enter or exit a trade. If you see that the price is rising, you want your indicators to show that it’s likely to keep going up.

Bear in mind that divergence only indicates a loss of momentum, but it doesn’t necessarily signal a trend shift. Acting on divergence alone can lead to substantial losses if the anticipated price reversal doesn’t occur soon enough or at all. Many traders have gotten bad results when they trade with divergences only. Similar to other trading strategies, you should try to get a stronger confirmation by adding more confluence factors.

Enter a Trade at the Right Time

When you see a divergence on the chart, it’s important that you don’t jump hastily into the trade. You should wait a while to see whether the price action will confirm the signal. Confirmation usually occurs when the price goes beyond the trend line, which is an indication of a reversal. Another good entry point is when the price breaks resistance or support. Once you see either of these entry signals, you should use it as an opportunity to place a trade.

Use a Stop Loss Order

Using a stop loss order can help you prevent an unpleasant surprise when the market moves against your trade. The best place to set your stop loss order is above the top or below the bottom the reversal has created. In theory, if you managed to spot a new trend when it was starting out, you should make sure the previous swing point won’t be breached.

Set the Right Profit Target

There are many profit target methods you can use to get better results from divergence trading. One of these methods is to create trend lines on your chart. As long as the price doesn’t break the trend line, you can just stay in the trade. Alternatively, you can watch out for the moment when a stock starts to create higher lows or lower highs. This is a sign that a new divergence may be developing, which is moving in the opposite direction from your position.

Now that you know what is a divergence in trading, you have another tool that can help you become a successful trader. However, you need to exercise caution when you’re trading divergences because they can produce false signals, especially in trending markets. Since almost every indicator is derived from price and volume data, you should base your trading decisions on price movements and then use indicators to confirm your decisions, not the other way round.

So you want to trade, but don’t know which style to choose. Here, you’ll find out how to decide. Day Trading Vs. Swing Trading

Before you start trading, first you should determine how active you want to be. This is one of the fundamental questions which will help pave the way ahead. What are your current responsibilities, and how much time do you have at hand?

Only when you have decided if you want to trade on a daily basis, versus buying-and-holding for several days or weeks, can you truly figure out the trading style that suits you.

Active traders are generally grouped into two camps — day and swing — and there are key differences you should understand as you plot your course. Ultimately, it all comes down to the time frames, technical expertise levels, and your personal choice, of course.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the main differences in the day trading vs. swing trading comparison and see which suits your style. I’ll do my best to help you see which strategy might serve you well, based on your specific goals.

Day Trading vs. Swing Trading

The ultimate end goal for both day traders and swing traders is the same; namely, generating profits. The holding periods — and therefore the technical tools being used — are what makes the difference.

Day trading involves making multiple trades on a daily basis, as the name suggests. According to the pattern day trader (PDT) rule established by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), investors who make at least four “round trip” trades within five days are considered day traders. Day traders look to profit from price discrepancies. They may get into positions based off technicals, fundamentals, or quantitative reasons. Day traders look to make a living from trading securities and typically don’t hold positions overnight.

By comparison, swing trading involves buying or shorting securities and holding them for multiple days to weeks. Swing traders understand that a trade might take that long to work. Unlike day traders, swing traders generally do not look to make trading a full-time job.

Moreover, you can start swing trading with a small amount of capital, whereas a day trader is subject to the “pattern day trader rule.“

This rule brands anyone making more than four day trades in the same security over five business days as a “pattern day trader.” This is provided that the trades represent more than 6 percent of the trader’s activity in that stretch. Pattern day traders must maintain minimum equity of $25,000 in their account on any day they plan to trade (and must meet that limit before they start trading for the day).

So, Which Style of Trading Should You Adopt?

Day trading vs. swing trading? That purely depends on how you plan to move ahead. There’s no one correct answer that will be applicable to everyone. It’s largely a personal choice, if you ask me. Both the swing trader and the day trader are here to make money — but their styles, ways of working, and expected expertise levels may differ.

If you are willing to invest in understanding technical analysis tools thoroughly and use them to your best advantage for major profits, you might consider being a swing trader. However, you will have to be really good at using these tools eventually. Day traders will also need to be exceptionally good with charting systems and software. You will, in fact, be using them much more frequently.

Day trading promises more profits in general. This is especially true of small accounts. However, experts are divided in their opinion in that many believe swing trading, with its wider timing window, has more potential for profits.

You should also consider the amount of time you are willing to put in for your trading activities. Day trading is usually a full-time endeavor, as you’ll need to be studying charts and managing trades for quite a lot of time every single day. On the other hand, you can do with much less time at your disposal when swing trading.

Another aspect to consider is that day trading usually involves working with margin, i.e. borrowed capital. Trading on margin enables day traders to maximize their profits, but it can also land them in the red rapidly if the strategies go wrong. Compared to day trading, swing trading is less risky. However, this does not imply that swing trading is entirely risk-free. In fact, there’s a lot of scope to lose here as well, if you’re not careful enough.

Beginners are generally much better off swing trading than day trading. This is because the latter will put you in direct competition with major investors who use cutting-edge technology and software to stay on top of their game. Swing trading, however, requires nothing more than a basic computer and free software. There are literally thousands of free resources that you can use to your advantage.

Ask Yourself: Are You Willing to Give What It Takes?

When comparing day trading vs. swing trading, you need to know the level of commitment each of them requires of you. Day trading is usually a fast-paced activity. You’ll need to make quick decisions to fare well; it’s an action-packed thing. If you like to take breaks every now and then and work at a relaxed pace, you should consider swing trading instead.

As you will have guessed, day trading can be a stressful experience if you’re not prepared and mostly uninitiated. You have to be highly watchful of market movements as and when they happen— there’s a lot at stake. If you prefer working in relatively calm and slightly less demanding environments, swing trading might be a better option.

This, by no means, implies swing trading is less stressful or has lower risks. It’s just that it is much better suited if you do not have the experience and are just starting out in the trading world— you get the message.

Here’s When You Should Choose Day Trading

Check out these main points to summarize when it might be ideal for you to be a day trader:

• You meet the capital requirements necessary to satisfy the FINRA pattern day trader rule and SEC rule, if and when these are applicable to your case.
• You are ready to study up-to-the-minute trends and take necessary action at a rapid pace.
• No day is ever dull for you and you seek that adrenaline rush every minute.
• You are diligent, disciplined, and strong-willed.
• You do not stress over things easily and most importantly, can manage stress really well.
• You understand the risks associated with making major losses and ending up in debt, especially if you’re trading on margin.
• You have the knowledge and expertise needed to make stupendous profits that characterize day trading.
• You are ready to make small profits on a day-to-day basis by making small trades.

Here’s When You Should Choose Swing Trading

If the description below rings a few more bells, it might mean that a swing trading strategy is a better choice for you.

• You are ready to wait from a few weeks to months while studying market movements.
• You are already into a full-time job and do not have a lot of time to spare for your trading activities.
• Constant monitoring is not your cup of tea. You do not want to keep babysitting market moves every single minute.
• You want a less stressful life with reduced risk levels compared to day trading.
• You do not want to only rely on making a living trading stocks.
• You do not have a lot of capital available to invest.
• You do not yet have advanced levels of technical trading knowledge.

The Bottom Line on Day Trading vs. Swing Trading

When you’re comparing day trading vs. swing trading, you have to first decide what kind of trader you want to be. Only you can make that decision. If you’re ready to “drop everything” and focus on the markets, you can be a day trader; if you don’t see trading as your full-time career, consider swing trading and learn about how to protect yourself during those short times when your attention is focused elsewhere.

Both day trading and swing trading will require you to be vigilant at all times, but the day trader will have much shorter time windows to respond — and respond correctly. The experience can quickly get on your nerves and you will definitely need more experience and knowledge to get things working.

Swing trading, on the other hand, is quite manageable as a part-time endeavor. You do not have to practice it full-time, although it is entirely possible to do that if you are really serious about studying market movements.

Once again, remember that the day trader vs. swing trader decision is absolutely dependent on your personal preference and choice of lifestyle. It is also dependent on your level of expertise and the skill set you possess.

Whichever route you decide to take, we recommend using online resources on technical analysis, which will help you to master some of the available tools for the job.

When you’re swing trading, it’s sometimes hard to figure out how to find stocks that are profitable. What is swing trading? Read this tutorial to find out what swing trading is, and learn how to swing trade stocks.

Learning how to swing trade can be a difficult task. Oftentimes, you’re using various analysis tools to try to catch profit over multiple day holds. The benefit of buying and holding over multiple days is that you’re saving capital by “trading” less when compared to day trading. However, there is some risk associated with holding stocks for multiple days, such as news events that may be released overnight. That being said, if you’re looking to swing trade and understand the risks, you need to know how to find stocks to swing trade.

Depending on your trading style, you might want to use a catalyst event, technical analysis, or fundamental analysis when conducting due diligence. For the most part, combining technical analysis and catalyst events works well in the trading community. Before we learn how to find stocks to swing trade, we first need to understand what swing trading really is.

What Is Swing Trading?

Swing trading is a type of trading that is basically aimed at making the most of short-term opportunities for profits in the market. Swing traders fit in between day traders and buy-and-hold investors.

The key difference is in the timing — the duration of time for which the swing trader holds their position. The swing trader will at least hold overnight, while the day trader has tighter limits and will close before the market closes.

The swing trader masters the art of holding onto a security for just long enough to capture price spikes, and then they quickly sell it off before the trend changes.

Remember, as a swing trader, technical analysis is your friend. Swing traders will examine charts and formulate a unique strategy. There is no one size fits all, though — a strategy may or may not work.

Pros and Cons of Swing Trading

Now that you understand what swing trading is, let’s look at its pros and cons. It’s worthwhile to learn how to swing trade because it presents unique opportunities. However, it also has its fair share of challenges. Let’s examine some major advantages and disadvantages of swing trading.

Pros:

• Maximize your short-term gains: Swing trading helps use short-term price movements to make maximal short-term profits. As the name suggests, swing traders use the market swings to their advantage. The market is continuously changing, and it is not always on the support and resistance zones. The swing trader will keep trading in and out, and hopefully, make profits all along the way.
• It can be easier: In swing trading, it can be relatively easy to find stocks that are worth investing in. There are a few key things to keep in mind. The strategy often includes stocks that have greater volume and volatility, which can help present more profit opportunities.
• Versatility and flexibility: Swing traders can use a number of different investment vehicles to maximize their profits and put their strategies to the test. It is possible to apply strategies to groups of stocks that are bundled in funds, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and single stocks, of course. This makes swing trading very versatile.
• Availability of tools: Swing traders usually rely on technical analysis, and have a number of tools at their disposal. There are many swing trading platforms and resources, such as video training, mobile apps, and online groups of swing traders, which can help dramatically raise the odds of making more profits.

Cons:

• Needs time: Swing trading involves staying up to date on the market conditions by the hour. If you are really serious about it, you will need to extract significant time from your daily life for market monitoring and analysis if you hope to make this activity profitable.
• Involves risks: Swing trading can be a very risky endeavor indeed — especially for those who are not accustomed to the level of risk-taking and stress it involves.
• Missed long-term opportunities: Without a doubt, owing to the very nature of this activity, swing traders may miss out on any long-term opportunities since they focus only on the short-term.
• Experience in technical analysis: Learning how to swing trade can be challenging because it requires you to master the art of interpreting charts and graphs and using technical analysis tools. Swing traders will need to be exceptionally good at it to be able to make the right decisions. If there is one individual who needs a thorough understanding of technical analysis more than any other trader, it has to be the swing trader.

If you want to learn how to use these tools to create a strategy that can promise higher rewards, check out this resource on technical analysis tools.

How to Find Stocks to Swing Trade

The first thing you want to do is see if there are any upcoming events, such as earnings. You can do this by going on the company website, or EarningsWhispers. Next, you want to see if there are any news events. Generally, a catalyst will help stocks move.

A few quick tips:

• You’ll want to start your trading day early and check on company news. Many trading platforms have news built-in, so make sure yours does as well before proceeding.
• If you don’t have access to this, then you can check CNBC, Bloomberg, and Finviz. Moreover, swing traders will also look at SEC filings, too.
• You need to be mindful of overall market news, such as political and economic events.
• Swing traders typically use The Basics of Technical Analysis in Day Trading technical analysis to spot potential trades, and if there’s a positive catalyst to support a bullish pattern, it could increase the probability of the trade being successful.

Aside from that, you can judge stocks on certain criteria, such as:

• Liquidity: Stocks with high liquidity typically have lower bid-ask spreads, resulting in a lower risk of loss. Your daily minimum volume is relatively arbitrary, but 500,000 shares per day is considered pretty reasonable.
• Correlations and volatility: Check sector-leading stocks or the major market indexes to determine which stocks have high correlations with them. Additionally, highly volatile stocks are more likely to break away from the trading range, allowing you to make more of a profit.
• Reliability: Swing traders tend to gravitate toward stocks that trade in patterns because they are seemingly more reliable. Similarly, the stocks of companies that regularly make the news during trading hours have a higher likelihood of bouncing out of the trading range, creating a good entry point for a trade.
• Number of market makers: Market makers increase liquidity and facilitate transactions by holding onto stocks. They often create trends by directing fund flows that impact a stock’s movement. Swing traders often gravitate toward stocks with at least a few market makers so that they can interpret the clues they leave behind.

Technical Analysis

If you don’t have access to a screener through your trading platform, you could use Finviz instead. For example, let’s say you find buying stocks above the 200-day simple moving average, and trading in an up channel, works well for swing trading. You could easily do that using Finviz’s free tool.

For the most part, we swing trade penny stocks, as well as low-dollar stocks. Now, keep in mind, not all penny stocks are created equal. Many traders prefer to find the ones that trade on Nasdaq or NYSE. It’s not too hard to learn how to trade penny stocks if you know what to look for.

Examples of Finding Stocks to Swing Trade

Now, the key is to find what works best for you, and learn how to find stocks to swing trade over time. If you’re a technical trader, it helps to look at technical patterns every night, and see which ones are poised to rebound or break out.

I like to look for stocks that have been up big, and pulled back, giving another potential entry. A lot of the time, I’ll screen for this on my trading platform and look at the chart to see if it fits my setup. For example, here’s a look at some of my trading plans:

• BLNK – I’ve been waiting for a pullback to swing this one. Using Wednesday’s low of $5.31, I’m watching for an entry and swing back to the middle $6’s or maybe $7 if it heats up.

• AETI – Picked this one up on Thursday, and it ran about 30% for me. I took 2/3 off for about $3,000 and hold 1/3 in play above the MA(200). I will consider adding 10,000 shares above $1.33 for a move to $2ish.

Final Thoughts

Once you know how to find stocks to swing trade, you need to come up with a plan. That means having a specified entry price, stop-loss price, and target profit. If you don’t have a plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Especially when you’re swing trading, you need to devise a plan and properly manage risks.

Thereafter, if you execute a trade on the stock, you need to stay up to date on any news, and figure out if there are any upcoming events. Finally, once you’ve exited the trade, you should journal and write out whether the trade worked. If it didn’t, write out why you think it didn’t work and how you could trade it differently if you see the same pattern next time. You should make a note for your winning trades, too.

When you review your trading journal, you’ll be able to see which swing trades worked best. Ultimately, you want to learn how to find stocks that fit your swing trading style by doing this.

Remember, swing trading is not without risks, but you can certainly be in a much better position to manage them if you know your way around technical analysis tools. You can have a look at the resources designed by our trading experts, which is a great way to master the art and science of technical analysis. This way, you can be sure that you have the right strategies in place, and be ready to face the market and the opportunities that it brings, every single day.