High of Day Momentum Scanner

Stocks pushing to new highs today with volume. Momentum traders watch these because a stock making new highs has no sellers above it from earlier in the day.

For broader momentum, see the momentum stock scanner.

A common setup: New High (filtered) (NHPF) with Relative Volume (RV) at 2 or more, Price $2 to $20, and a Float max for small caps.

1. In TI Pro, open a window with New High (filtered) and Running Up (confirmed).
2. Add Relative Volume, Price and Spread.
3. Optional: Float max.
4. Save and turn on sound.

A new high of day is above every price today. A new 52-week high is above every price this year. The same alert does both; the minimum-days setting decides. See the 52-week high scanner.

New High (NHP) fires on every new high, which can be many times a minute on a fast stock. New High (filtered) (NHPF) shows about one alert per stock per minute unless the move is bigger than expected. Most traders use the filtered one.

New High Ask (NHA) watches the ask price, not trades. The ask rising to new highs can show buyers lifting offers before the next trade prints.

5 Minute High (IDH5) and 15 Minute High (IDH15) fire when the current bar breaks the prior bar's high. They are smaller breakouts than a new high of day and fire more often.

For low float momentum, add Float (Float) at a max of 20 million and Float Turnover (FloatTurn) to see how much of the float has traded.

The chart at the top shows BZUN climbing from the early session, with the New High alert marking the push to a new high. Volume bars underneath show the steady trading behind it.

The momentum stock scanner page covers gap and go and running alerts. This page is about the new high of day itself.

1. A small cap gaps up and pulls back in the first half hour.
2. Volume picks up and price heads back toward the morning high.
3. NHPF fires on the first print above the high.
4. A trader using this setup might buy the break with a stop under the last pullback low, and size small since these moves reverse fast.

This real window ran New High Ask (filtered) (NHAF), which fires when the ask, not the last trade, makes a new high for the day. At 12:46:39 p.m. ET, Archrock (AROC) showed a new high ask at $13.15, up 3.8%, on Relative Volume of 6.88. A minute earlier, Brookfield (BIP) showed one at $25.08, up 10.8%.

The ask moving up before trades print there means sellers are pulling back their offers. That can come a moment before the last price breaks the high, which is why some momentum traders watch the ask alerts.

Minutes Since New High (NHPAgeM), Minutes Since New High, shows how long ago the stock made its last high of the day. A max of 15 means it made one in the last 15 minutes. That keeps the list to stocks still pushing, not ones that topped at 9:45.

Time to Median High (5 day) (HighTOD5Med) shows the time of day a stock has made its daily high, as a median over the last 5 days. A stock that usually tops within the first half hour may be done by 10:00 a.m. ET. One that tends to make its high late in the day may still have room.

Running Up Now (RUN) fires on moves much faster than normal for the stock. Paired with new high alerts, it shows which highs are coming on a sudden burst, not a slow grind.

Example numbers, not a real trade

1. A stock is up 14% at $6.20 with Relative Volume of 5.
2. It pulls back to $5.90, then pushes. NHPF fires at $6.21.
3. Stop at $5.88, under the pullback.
4. If the next push fails and NHPAgeM climbs past 15, the move may be done.

Small caps making new highs on heavy volume are the stocks most likely to hit a volatility halt. Keep Halt (HALT) in the same window.

5 Minute High (IDH5) fires the first time the current 5 minute bar breaks the prior bar’s high. It is a smaller high than the day’s, and fires far more. Traders use it to time entries on a stock already on their list.

In the first minutes, almost every active stock makes a new high. Time Of Day (Time) with a min of 5 or 10 skips that rush, so the alerts that fire are highs that came after the open settled.

Each alert row shows the time, the symbol, the price, the change on the day and relative volume. For high of day trading, the two columns that matter most are relative volume and the change. A new high on Relative Volume under 1 is a stock drifting up on normal trading. A new high on 5 or more is a stock in play.

Most new high alerts fire in the first hour. Between about 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET, highs come less and many fail. The last hour brings a second wave as volume returns. Some momentum traders only trade the first and last hours.

High of day stocks move fast, so position size matters more than entry price. Smart Stop (%) (SmartStopP) gives a stop distance from each stock’s own volatility. Divide the dollars you are willing to lose by that distance and you have a size that fits the stock.

New highs at the end of a long run often stall. Know your exit.

Test your rules in a simulated account first.

• Buying every new high on a stock up 50% with no pullback.
• Not checking the spread before entering.
• Chasing a high that came on one big print.
• Staying in after the stock stops making highs.