The morning routine

What to do in the hour before the open, in what order, and why hunting for stocks after the bell is already too late.

Disclosure, not advice

The strategies, scores and signals here are produced by an algorithmic system and based on technical data only. They are not investment advice or a substitute for professional advice, we are not investment advisors. Trading involves risk, and every decision and action is solely the user's responsibility.

Day tradingLesson 12 of 344 min

The morning routine

A day trader's work happens before the open. After the bell there's no time to think — only to execute a plan that already exists. Anyone hunting for names while trading is reacting to moves that already happened.

The fixed order

First the broad market: where the indices lean, what volatility is doing. Second the event calendar: when a macro release will freeze trading mid-session. Third a gap-and-volume scan to build a short list. Fourth, for each name on it — what the news is, where the levels are, and a plan for both directions.

Planning both directions is what separates the professional from the amateur. Not "the stock will go up", but "if it holds above the level I buy with the stop there, and if it fails below it I stand aside or consider the other side".

The day's clock

The first hour carries most of the volume, most of the opportunity and most of the mistakes — moves are fast and spreads are wide. Midday, roughly 11:30 to 14:00 New York time, is usually dead: low volume, chop and failing patterns. The final hour brings volume back, along with sharp position-squaring moves.

Most losing day traders lose at midday. Not because they're bad, but because they're bored and inventing trades that aren't there.

The day's boundaries

Before the open, set three numbers: maximum daily loss, maximum number of trades, and how many consecutive losses trigger a stop for the day. All three are written down before emotion enters, because mid-session the brain will find an excellent argument against each one.

Terms from this lesson

רשימת מעקבWatchlist: A short list of stocks with a reason to move, built before the open.
טווח הפתיחהOpening Range: The high and low of the first minutes. A frame for the rest of the day.
השעה האחרונהPower Hour: The hour before the close, when volume returns and moves sharpen.

Practical checklist

I checked the indices and the event calendar
I built a list of three to five stocks, no more
Each name has news, levels and a two-way plan
I wrote down the max daily loss before the open

Continue here

Stocks in play for the session Next: finding the stocks

The full glossary