How We Scan Stocks
This page explains how Swing Edge constrains its market universe, the technical vocabulary behind the scans, and the risk limits you should assume. We keep exact formulas, weights, thresholds, and ranking logic proprietary, but we want the research language—and the boundaries—to be clear.
Research candidates, not calls
Scanner rows are research leads. They are not buy, sell, hold, short, or portfolio recommendations.
Multiple clues, not one indicator
We describe setups using price structure, trend context, participation, and risk language rather than a single magic signal.
Process stays protected
Definitions are public for clarity. Exact formulas, combinations, and ranking rules are not published.
What we scan (and what we deliberately exclude)
Swing Edge is built around a single listed cash-equity venue for reproducible data and clean benchmarking. We do not attempt to scan every global exchange from one surface; within that venue we prioritize breadth with guardrails so research rows stay statistically meaningful.
NSE equities via index sleeves
The research universe is assembled from NSE-listed constituents of Nifty 500, Nifty SmallCap 250, and Nifty MicroCap 250—merged and de-duplicated. This is not “random OTC” and not “every micro-name on the exchange”; it is a curated, exchange-published list set designed for diversified exposure with transparent membership rules.
Liquidity and participation filters
Names that behave like lottery tickets in the data—persistent stale prints, vanishing depth, or chronically thin rupee turnover—are poor candidates for systematic study. We therefore apply liquidity-aware gates using multi-day participation proxies (for example average daily traded value bands). Exact cutoffs and tie-break rules are proprietary, but the intent is conservative: prefer structures you can actually observe, backtest, and risk-manage.
Market cap: index-implied, not a single magic floor
We do not publish one universal “minimum market cap” number because cap and liquidity are related but not identical. Membership in the index sleeves above implies a minimum scale and listing quality bar; within that, smaller sleeves can still appear when they clear participation tests. If you require only mega-cap names, use judgement and your own filters in addition to the scanner.
F&O segment
Coverage is not F&O-only. Many strong swing candidates never trade in the derivatives complex; restricting to futures and options listings would bias the universe and discard valid setups. If you personally trade only F&O-listed names, cross-check any symbol against your broker’s permitted list before acting.
How we think about price structure (without publishing the recipe)
The scanners are not one-indicator toys. They synthesize structure, trend context, participation, and proximity. Below is the research vocabulary we use publicly; weights, measurement windows, and thresholding remain proprietary.
Consolidation
A phase where price respects overlapping support and resistance: buyers and sellers negotiate instead of trend-extending. For research purposes we care whether the compression is orderly—higher lows into a ceiling, or a defined base—versus chaotic chop that fakes structure.
Volatility contraction pattern (VCP)
Popularized in growth-style literature as a sequence of tighter swings and smaller pullbacks as a base ages—sellers exhausting into a smaller zone of uncertainty. We use “VCP-like” language intentionally: we measure contraction and diminishing supply cues, but we do not disclose the exact counting rules or required number of contractions.
Relative strength (RS)
RS compares how a stock is behaving versus a broad benchmark (and sometimes peer context). Leading RS during base-building is a quality signal because it suggests institutional preference even when absolute price is sideways. We blend RS with failure-risk language because strong RS alone is not immunity from a bad breakout.
Breakout proximity
A continuous measure of how close price sits to a well-defined pivot or supply shelf where resolution may occur. Pre-breakout names cluster near that zone; post-breakout names have already printed a decisive move that still deserves follow-through scrutiny. We never publish the exact distance math—market microstructure and gaps make naive percent rules misleading.
What is Pre-Breakout?
A pre-breakout setup is a stock that has not necessarily broken out yet, but may be building pressure under or near a meaningful resistance zone. These setups often show consolidation, volatility contraction, base formation, volume dry-up, and improving relative strength.
Price spends time in a range instead of trending randomly.
Daily ranges often tighten as buyers and sellers reach temporary balance.
A pivot or supply area becomes the level to watch for resolution.
Selling pressure may reduce before a decisive move attempts to form.
Terms you will see on Swing Edge
These are simplified definitions, not implementation details. They help users read scanner pages without exposing the proprietary logic behind scoring and ranking.
A way to describe whether a stock is acting stronger or weaker than the broader market or its peer group.
The shape of recent price action: bases, pivots, pullbacks, higher lows, lower highs, support and resistance areas.
How trading activity behaves around important price zones. Strong moves usually need participation, not only price movement.
A practical view of whether a stock has enough market participation for its moves to be meaningful and easier to study.
Whether the stock appears to be moving with or against its broader trend context.
How close price is to a zone where traders may watch for a possible resolution.
Whether price is showing follow-through, acceleration, or hesitation after a setup appears.
Warning signs that a setup may be vulnerable to false breakouts, overhead supply, weak closes, or support loss.
A proof board showing stocks that appeared in scanner results before a later move in the selected window.
A downside-structure observation where price behavior may suggest weakness or risk, not a trading instruction.
Update frequency
Core scanner pages are refreshed when updated market data and system jobs are available.
Context pages may update more frequently when supporting market data is available.
The proof board is refreshed from scanner appearances and subsequent movement inside the selected window.
Balanced expectations (read this carefully)
Search engines and regulators increasingly reward finance content that states limits plainly. Nothing on Swing Edge is a promise of profit or outperformance.
- No scanner guarantees success. A high score or an attractive label only means the historical pattern matched our research rules at that moment—not that the next candle will cooperate.
- False signals and failed breakouts are normal. Whipsaws, intraday spikes that fade, gaps through stops, news shocks, and broad-market correlations can all invalidate setups that looked textbook in the prior session.
- You should use stop losses (or an equivalent risk boundary). Stops do not eliminate gap or liquidity risk, but trading without a predefined invalidation level turns research rows into denial-of-loss behavior.
False breakouts, thin liquidity, halts, corporate actions, and regime shifts can turn a clean structure into a loss faster than a narrative updates. Swing Edge outputs are research inputs, not instructions.
- Scanner scores and labels are not buy, sell, or hold recommendations.
- You remain responsible for entry timing, position size, stops, targets, and taxes.
- Past “Scanner Wins” or similar proof views do not guarantee future scanner performance.
- Consult qualified professionals where appropriate and follow applicable regulations.