How do you find stocks that match your strategy today?
You scan for it, rather than scrolling charts until something looks right. Describe the setup in plain English or paste a formula, choose which universe to search, and you get every ticker where the conditions are true as of the last daily close. The important discipline is what you do with that list: a match means your setup occurs there, not that the trade is good.
Based on the same process behind every Library report. How we test.
Two ways to say what you are looking for
The first is plain English. Describe the kind of setup you want, such as a pullback to a rising 50-day average in an uptrend, and it gets parsed into an explicit spec you can read back before anything runs. The second is a formula, in the TC2000 style, for traders who already think in those terms and want exact thresholds with no interpretation in between. Both scan the same data and return the same kind of list.
Choose the universe on purpose
Scanning the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq 100 keeps you in liquid, large names and returns quickly. Scanning all US stocks casts the widest net and will surface thinner, lower-volume tickers that may not be tradeable at your size. Neither is more correct, but the choice quietly determines what kind of trade you end up looking at, so make it deliberately rather than by default.
A match is not an edge
This is the part worth internalizing. A scan tells you the conditions are currently true on a ticker. It says nothing about whether those conditions have ever led anywhere, which is the question the earlier chapters were about. The honest workflow runs in that order: test the setup first, then scan for it. Scanning an untested idea just produces a longer list of things you have no reason to believe in.
Know what the scan cannot see
Scans here are technical, working from price, volume, and indicators, not fundamentals, and they evaluate the last closed daily bar rather than intraday movement. So the list is a starting point for your homework tonight, not a live feed of what is happening right now. Near-misses are worth a look too: a ticker that met most of your conditions is often tomorrow's candidate.
How to use this
- Test the setup before you scan for it. A list of matches for an unproven idea is not progress.
- Pick the universe to match the size you actually trade, not the widest one available.
- Read a match as 'the conditions are here', then do your own work on the chart and the context.
- Check the near-misses. They often become the cleaner setup a day or two later.
- Remember the scan sees the last close. Anything that happened today intraday is not in it.
Common questions
How do I find stocks that match my trading setup?
Run a scan that encodes your conditions, either by describing the setup in plain English or by entering an explicit formula, across a universe you choose. You get every ticker where the conditions hold on the last daily close.
Does a stock appearing in my scan mean it is a good trade?
No. It means your conditions are currently true there. Whether those conditions have any edge is a separate question that only testing answers, which is why you should test a setup before scanning for it.
Should I scan the whole market or just large caps?
It depends on what you can actually trade. Large-cap universes keep results liquid and fast; scanning everything surfaces more candidates but includes thin names where your size may not fit.
Can I scan on fundamentals?
Not here. These scans are technical: price, volume, and indicators. Fundamental filters are a different tool.
Are scan results real time?
No. They evaluate the last closed daily bar, so they are built for evening preparation rather than intraday reaction.
Describe the setup in plain English or paste a formula, choose your universe, and see every ticker where it fires on the last close.