Have you downloaded a new trading app, logged in, and instantly felt lost?
Let’s be honest. We all have been there. For any new trader, the first time opening a trading platform can feel like stepping into the cockpit of a spaceship without a manual. Flashing charts, racing numbers, and a dozen of screaming tickers. It’s a sea of data that can freeze you before even placing the first order. And truthfully, the sensory overload doesn’t just hit beginners, even the seasoned traders can find themselves drowning in the noise.
But what if the reality is we don’t need to master everything all at once to trade successfully? What if we could cut through the noise?
Yes, it is true, even the most seasoned traders, whether trading in the Indian market or any other international markets, start their day by focusing on just a handful of essential tools.
Today, let’s break down these essentials. We’re going to build a strong foundation for intraday trading practice by just mastering these 4 core essentials: Market Movers, Charts, Fundamentals and Price Alerts.
1. Market Movers: Where’s the Action?
When the market opens at 9:15 AM IST, it doesn’t move in unison. It’s a chaotic mix of stocks sprinting, some jogging, and others taking a nap. Our first job is to figure out where the real action is happening.
What is it?
Think of Market Movers as the day’s “Breaking News.” It’s a dashboard that instantly shows you the Top Gainers, Top Losers, Most Active by Volume, and sometimes, stocks hitting their 52-week highs or lows.
How Do We Use It?
At the start of the day, we don’t need to analyse all 5,000+ stocks. We just need to glance at this list.
- Top Gainers/Losers: Shows us which stocks have the strongest momentum, either up or down.
- Volume Spikes: This is our “unusual activity” detector. A stock trading with much higher volume than usual means a lot of people are interested. Something is up, and it’s worth a look.
Why is it important?
It’s our first, most crucial filter. In just a couple of minutes, Market Movers narrows down thousands of stocks to a handful that are worth our attention. You can also pinpoint stocks by further narrowing this down based on indices(NIFTY 50) or across the breadth of an Exchange(NSE/BSE). This helps us form a watchlist for the day in under five minutes.
Quick Fact: At any time during the trading day, more than half of total market volume is often concentrated in just the top 10% of stocks. Focusing on Market Movers helps us quickly zero in on these high-activity names.
2. Charts: Is This Move for Real?
So, a buzzing stock has caught our eye in the movers list. But do we jump in? Not just yet. Now, we turn to the charts to understand the story of the stock.
What is it?
A chart is simply a visual story of a stock’s price journey over time. It’s our roadmap for understanding where the price has been and anticipating where it might be headed.
How Do We Use It?
Delving into complex indicators isn’t necessary yet. We’re to look for two simple things:
- Check Support and Resistance: Where are the “floor” (support) and “ceiling” (resistance)? A stock breaking through its ceiling is often a strong signal.
- Spot the Momentum: To spot the momentum, along with the volume of a stock, we need to see if the recent candles look long and decisive or short and indecisive? The chart tells us if the move has strength.
Why is it important?
Charts turn a guess into an educated decision. They help us visually confirm if the opportunity is valid and give us a logical place to plan our entry and exit. It’s the difference between gambling and trading with a strategy.
Quick fact: It’s well established that the vast majority of active traders rely on charts to time their trades, other studies report 70-90% usage among frequent participants.
3. The 30-Second Sanity Check: What’s the Story?
A great chart is good, but a strong intraday trading setup is when the great chart is backed by a real story. This is where a quick fundamentals check gives us an edge.
What is it?
Fundamentals are the “why” behind a stock’s move. We’re talking about major news, earnings results, or new projects, anything that affects the company’s business.
How Do We Use It?
This isn’t a deep financial audit; it’s a quick sanity check. Before trading, we ask: “Is there a recent news catalyst?” A positive earnings report, a big contract win, a favorable government policy, global political events or economic events can give a stock the fuel it needs for a sustained move. The goal is to make sure we’re not trading a stock that’s moving on pure rumour.
Why is it important?
Conviction. Knowing there’s a solid reason for a stock’s movement gives us the confidence to stay in a trade, even if the price wiggles a bit. It helps us trust our analysis.
Quick Stat: History shows that stocks with positive earnings surprises tend to outperform for several days after the announcement—a quick check helps us catch these moves early.
4. Price Alerts: Your Eyes on the Market
You’ve found a great intraday trading setup, your chart analysis says it’s about to break through a key level(our ideal entry point) and that level might be 20 minutes or an hour away. The worst thing you can do is glue your eyes to the screen—that’s how emotional mistakes happen.
What is it?
A price alert is a simple notification. You tell your platform, “Hey, ping me when this stock hits ₹550,” and it does exactly that, sending a pop-up to your phone or desktop.
How Do We Use It?
We set alerts for everything that matters: our planned entry price, our profit target, and our stop-loss. Then, we can step away and focus on other things.
- For Entry: Set an alert just above a resistance level to catch a breakout.
- For Exits: Set an alert for exit plan, a raise or dip in price of the stock you’re following. Many Platforms also offer advanced orders (like OCO) that let you set your profit target and stop-loss at the same time. The core idea is to have a plan for getting out, both in profit and in loss – enabling real-time monitoring without you having to constantly watch the platform.
Why is it important?
It sets you free. Price alerts automate your watchfulness, removing the stress and emotion from the equation. You’re no longer reacting to every little price tick; you’re acting on your pre-planned strategy when the time is right.
Quick Fact: Surveys reveal that traders using systematic price alerts report fewer impulsive trades and more consistent profit-taking—alerts are the discipline boost every intraday trader needs.
Putting It All Together: A Typical Morning
So, how does this look in a real trading session? Something like this:
- 9:20 AM: The market has settled a bit. We open the Market Movers. We spot a pharma stock that’s up 4% with massive volume.
- 9:30 AM: We pull up the Chart for that stock. It’s building momentum and nearing a key breakout point. A breakout could mean a strong upward move.
- 9:35 AM: Time for the 30-Second Sanity Check. A quick news search reveals they just got FDA approval for a new drug. The story checks out.
From here, your timeline will depend on how the market moves. Once the initial analysis is done, the next steps in your plan could unfold at any time:
- Set Your Alert: Based on your analysis, you set a Price Alert just above the breakout level identified. Now, you wait for the market to come to us.
- Execute the Plan: Ping! When your alert goes off, you quickly check the chart one last time, to confirm if the breakout move is strong, and execute your planned trade.
- Manage the Trade: Once in, you review your trade and set exit plan in motion: an alert for your profit target and one for your stop-loss, to protect your capital. Remember, you need to close Baskets before the Market is shut.
By following this simple process, we’ve brought order to the chaos. We traded a plan, not an impulse.
This framework is your starting point. But hey, sometimes the best strategy for intraday trading could merely be mastering these four essentials, and your solid foundation for your entire trading journey could be covered.
In our upcoming blogs, we’ll dive deeper into advanced charting techniques, Option Chain strategies, and other features that can take your trading to the next level. Stay tuned!