What Are High Volume Stocks?
High volume stocks are equities with a large number of shares traded daily, offering high liquidity and tight bid-ask spreads. These stocks are popular among day traders due to their volatility and ease of entry/exit, making them ideal for intraday trading strategies.
Key Function: High volume stocks provide opportunities for quick profits by leveraging frequent price movements and reliable technical signals.
Why Trade High Volume Stocks?
High volume stocks are preferred for day trading due to their unique characteristics:
- High Liquidity: Large trading volume ensures easy entry and exit with minimal slippage.
- Volatility: High volume often correlates with price movement, ideal for scalping or momentum trading.
- Reliable Signals: Technical indicators like RSI or MACD perform better with high volume stocks.
- News-Driven Moves: High volume stocks often react to earnings, news, or market events, creating tradable opportunities.
Pro Tip: Use a stock screener to identify high volume stocks with average daily volumes above 1 million shares and combine with indicators like VWAP for better entries.
Finding and Setting Up High Volume Stocks
Most trading platforms, such as MetaTrader, TradingView, or Thinkorswim, offer stock screeners to identify high volume stocks. Key setup steps include:
- Use a Stock Screener: Filter for stocks with daily volume above 1–2 million shares and volatility suitable for day trading.
- Focus on Timeframes: Use 1-minute or 5-minute charts for intraday trading signals.
- Apply Indicators: Combine with moving averages, RSI, or VWAP to confirm trade setups.
- Monitor News: Check for earnings reports or market events driving volume spikes.
Popular Strategies for Trading High Volume Stocks
Here are three beginner-friendly strategies for trading high volume stocks:
1. Breakout Strategy
This strategy focuses on trading high volume stocks when they break key support or resistance levels.
- Entry: Buy when the stock breaks above resistance with high volume, or sell when it breaks below support.
- Exit: Target a fixed profit (e.g., 1–2%) or use a trailing stop.
- Confirmation: Use breakout patterns or volume spikes to validate entries.
2. Momentum Strategy
This strategy capitalizes on strong price movements in high volume stocks, often driven by news or market trends.
- Entry: Buy when the stock shows strong upward momentum (e.g., price above VWAP and RSI above 70), or sell for downward momentum.
- Exit: Exit at recent highs/lows or when momentum fades (e.g., RSI drops below 50).
- Tip: Confirm with momentum indicators like MACD.
3. Scalping Strategy
Scalping high volume stocks involves quick trades to capture small price movements.
- Entry: Buy when the price pulls back to a moving average (e.g., 9-period EMA) in an uptrend, or sell in a downtrend.
- Exit: Take profits after a 0.5–1% move or use a tight stop-loss.
- Tip: Use scalping techniques with VWAP for precise entries.
Pro Tip: Focus on high volume stocks during active market hours (9:30 AM–11:30 AM and 2:00 PM–4:00 PM EST) for optimal volatility.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Trading high volume stocks can be rewarding, but beginners should avoid these pitfalls:
- Trading low-volume periods: Avoid trading during lunch hours (12 PM–2 PM EST) when volume and volatility are low.
- Overtrading: Focus on high-probability setups to avoid excessive commissions.
- Ignoring volatility: High volume doesn’t always mean tradable moves; confirm with indicators.
- Neglecting risk management: Use stop-loss orders to protect against sudden reversals.
Why Trade High Volume Stocks?
High volume stocks are ideal for day traders due to their liquidity, volatility, and responsiveness to technical indicators. They offer multiple trading opportunities daily, making them suitable for scalping, momentum, or breakout strategies. With proper risk management, high volume stocks can be part of a profitable trading system.
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