This is a recording where I run a scan and create a stock watchlist from it. It shows the whole process.

Each scanning session starts with a brief market analysis to determine overall market conditions. If the market is looking healthy, I’m free to place valid trades.

Because the market is near highs (at the time of recording), the pattern I’m scanning for and potentially trading is the contraction pattern. There are may also be cup and handle patterns.

This video was recorded for my Complete Method Stock Swing Trading course. The course covers four strategies that are used at different times based on how most stocks are performing.

A stock watchlist for swing trading is published each week on the website, assuming there are some valid setups and conditions are ok for trading.

Typical Night of Scanning (Video)

This is my typical night of scanning. Well…I am not usually talking and explaining things the whole time, so my typical night of scanning is usually much quicker. But you’ll get the idea.

The market analysis only takes a minute or two to assess overall market conditions. Beyond that, determine how much time you wish to allocate to your scanning process. I spend about 1 hour once per week. You could spend less (increase scanning criteria or only go through the top 50, 75, 100, etc. performing stocks on the list), or you could scan more times per week if you have the time.

As you’ll see, scanning once a week for swing trades works fine because often we end up with a nice list of stocks that aren’t ready to trade this instant, but may set up over the next few days.

This video was recorded in January 2021. It reflects the market conditions present at that time. The scanning process is the same today; we look at how the market is performing and adjust our scanning criteria to find stocks that are stronger than the indexes.

Cory Mitchell, CMT

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article is personal investment advice, or advice to buy or sell anything. Trading is risky and can result in substantial losses, even more than deposited if using leverage.