Put Market Scanners on Your Radar

The stock market is a very big place. In fact, traders and investors can now choose from almost 7,000 equities in the major U.S. exchanges alone. This impressive list becomes mind-boggling when you add in thousands of foreign stocks, pink sheets and derivatives. So how can you find that tiny needle of opportunity in this huge haystack of trading choices? Often the best solution is to use a market-scanning tool, software or Web site.

The choice of scanners has multiplied almost as fast as the markets they search. Just spend a little time on Google and you'll uncover dozens of these products for your immediate review. Today I'm examining scanners that address the needs of intraday traders.

eSignal offers a powerful scanning tool that can be used as a stand-alone product or in conjunction with the company's real-time quoting software. The scanner enables traders to run separate routines that look at the premarket, find the strong/weak stocks of the day, or examine big moves from first hour and noontime highs/lows.

These scans are quite simple but do a great job showing traders where the action is. I use the premarket scan every day and would be lost without it. The scan starts up promptly at 8 a.m. EDT, when most ECNs come to life. Every two minutes it lists out premarket volume and gain/loss leaders. This is indispensable information that's almost impossible to get through your own efforts.

The eSignal market scanner is extremely fast as well. It auto-refreshes instantly on a broadband connection and uses very little bandwidth. My biggest complaint with the scanner is the lack of customization or sorting functions with the various columns of output. This small addition would keep this scanner at the top of my list.

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Alan Farley is a professional trader and author of The Master Swing Trader. Farley also runs a Web site called HardRightEdge.com, an online resource for trading education, technical analysis and short-term investment strategies. At the time of publication, Farley was long Trident Microsystems and Axcelis, although holdings can change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Farley appreciates your feedback and invites you to send it to [e-mail]. Also, click here to sign up for Farley's premium subscription product The Daily Swing Trade brought to you exclusively by TheStreet.com.

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