Momentum is what day trading is all about. One of the first things I learned as a beginner trader is that the only way to profit is by finding stocks that are moving. The good news is that almost every single day there is a stock that will move 20-30% or even more! This is a fact.
The question is how do we find those stocks before they make the big move. The biggest realization I made that has led to my success is that the stocks that make the 20-30% moves all share a few technical indicators in common.
Before going any further, let’s step back for a moment and ask ourselves what we require from a momentum day trading strategy. First of all, we need a stock that is moving. Stocks that are chopping around sideways are useless.
So the first step for a trader is to find the stocks that are moving. I use stock scanners to find these. I ONLY trade stocks at extremes. This means I look for a stock having a once in a year type of event. The price action associated with this event is almost always the cleanest.